THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 

From  the  collection  o 
James  Collins, 
Drumcondra.  Ireland. 
Purchased,  1918. 


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BROTIIEKS   c.F  THE  BENEDICTINE  MONASTEJiY 


PRINTED  PGR  mSdYS^LFDCxATE  HILL. 


2^2 


TO 

THE   RIGHT  HONOURABLE 

EARL  FITZWILLIAM, 

ETC.  ETC.  ETC. 

THESE 

nnutfote^  of  mtvmtmn 

ARE 

RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED, 

BY 

HIS  MOST  DEVOTED 

AND  MOST  OBEDIENT 

HUMBLE  SERVANTS, 


487140 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
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THE 


ANECDOTES  OF  PATRIOTISM. 


"He  who  sincerely  loves  his  country,  leaves  the 
fragrance  of  a  good  name  to  a  hundred  ages." 

PEKIN  GAZETTE,  NOV.  13,  1814, 


LOVE  OF  COUNTRY. 

Patriotism,  or  the  love  of  country,  is  so  general, 
that  no  spot,  even  were  it  a  desert,  but  is  remembered 
with  pleasure,  provided  it  is  our  own.  The  Cretans 
called  it  by  a  name  which  indicated  a  mother's  love  for 
her  children.  The  Ethiopian  imagines  that  God 
made  his  sands  and  deserts,  while  angels  only  were 
employed  in  forming  the  rest  of  the  globe.  The 
Arabian  tribe  of  Ouadeliu  conceive  that  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars,  rise  only  for  them.  The  Maltese, 
iiisulated  on  a  rock,  distinguish  their  island  by  the  ap- 
pellation of  "  The  Flower  of  the  World  and  the 
Caribbees  esteem  their  country  a  Paradise,  and  them- 
selves alone  entitled  to  the  name  of  man. 

The  Abbe  de  Lille  relates  of  an  Indian,  who,  amid 
the  splendour  of  Paris,  beholding  a  banana  tree  in  the 
Jardin  des  Plantes,  bathed  it  with  his  tears,  and  for  a 


4 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


moment  seemed  to  be  transported  to  his  own  land. 
And  when  an  European  advised  some  American 
Indians  to  emigrate  to  another  district,  "  What,'' 
said  they,    shall  we  say  to  the  bones  of  our  fathers 
arise,  and  follow  us  to  a  foreign  country." 

Bosraan  relates,  that  the  negroes  of  the  gold  coast 
of  Africa  are  so  desirous  of  being  buried  in  their 
own  country,  that  if  a  man  die  at  some  distance  from 
it,  and  his  friends  are  not  able  to  take  his  entire  body 
to  his  native  spot,  they  cut  off  his  head,  one  arm,  and 
one  leg;  cleanse  them,  boil  them,  and  then  carry 
them  to  the  desired  spot,  where  they  inter  them  with 
great  solemnity.  And  the  Javanese  have  such  an 
affection  for  the  place  of  their  nativity,  that  no  ad- 
vantages can  induce  the  agricultural  tribes,  in  parti- 
cular, to  quit  the  tombs  of  their  fathers. 

The  Norwegians,  proud  of  their  barren  summits,  in- 
scribe upon  their  rix  dollars,  "  spirit,  loyalty,  valour, 
and  whatever  is  honourable,  let  the  world  learn  among 
the  rocks  of  Norway." 


PERICLES. 

When  Pericles,  the  noble  Athenian,  was  on  his 
death  bed,  and  the  chief  citizens  were  about  him  re- 
hearsing his  illustrious  services  to  the  republic,  and 
the  virtues  that  in  him  were  so  conspicuous ;  Pericles, 
whom  they  supposed  speechless  and  insensible,  over- 
heard, and  thus  addressed  them:  "I  wonder  that 
you  should  so  honourably  mention  those  achievements 
that  are  common  to  other  generals,  and  v/hich  fortune 
claims  a  share  in  ;  and  yet  omit  what  I  value  above 
them  all,  viz,  that  in  the  whole  exercise  of  mj 


PATRIOTISM.  v5 
autliorit;^  in  turbulent  times,  and  when  I  had  many 
great  enemies,  yet  I  never  gave  any.  of  my  fellow 
citizens  cause  to  put  on  mourning,  either  for  them- 
selves or  any  of  their  relatives. 


PHOCION. 

The  deputies  of  Philip,  King  of  Macedon,  offered 
a  great  sum  of  money  in  that  prince's  name  to 
Phocion  the  Athenian,  and  entreated  him  to  ac- 
cept it,  if  not  for  himself,  at  least  for  his  children, 
who  were  in  circumstances  that  prevented  them  from 
supporting  the  glory  of  his  name.    "  If  they  re- 
semble me,"  said  Phocion,  "  the  little  spot  of  ground, 
on  the  produce  of  which  1  have  hitherto  lived,  and 
which  has  raised  me  to  the  glory  you  mention,  will 
be  sufficient  to  maintain  them."    Alexander,  the  son 
of  Philip,  afterwards  sent  him  a  hundred  talents. 
Phocion  enquired  what  design  Alexander  had  in 
sending  him  so  large  a  sum,  when  he  did  not  remit 
any  thing  to  the  rest  of  the  Athenians  ?   "  It  is," 
said  they,  "  because  Alexander  looks  upon  you 
as  the  most  just  and  virtuous  man."    "  Let  him," 
replied  Phocion,  «  suffer  me   still  to  enjoy  that 
character,  and  to  deserve  it." 


PABIUS. 

When  Fabius  Maximus  was  created  Dictator,  it 
was  for  the  purpose  of  more  effectually  carrying  on 
the  war  against  Hannibal,  who  was  gaining  great 
advantages  over  the  Komans  at  the  head  of  his  vic- 
torious troops  in  Italy.  These  advantages  having 
B  3 


6 


PERCY  ANE€DOT£S. 


been  owing  to  the  rash  and  impetuous  conduct  of 
some  of  those  generals  who  had  preceded  Fabius 
in  this  important  command,  he  was  induced,  both 
from  the  general  coolness  of  his  temper,  and  from 
the  particular  circumstances  of  the  campaign,  to  act  a 
more  circumspect  part,  by  prudently  avoiding  a 
general  engagement.     This  drew  upon  him  much 
unjust  censure,  not  only  from  his  enemies  at  Rome, 
but  from  the  soldiers  of  his  array,  both  parties 
imputing  his  judicious  conduct  to  a  principle  of 
cowardice.   The  noble  answer  he  returned  when  these 
calumnies  were  reported  of  him,  well  deserves  to  be 
lemembered.       I  should  be  a  coward,  indeed,"  re- 
plied this  brave  and  experienced  captain,    if  I  were 
to  be  terrified  into  a  change  of  measures  by  ground- 
less clamours  and  reproaches.    That  man,"  added  he, 
"  is  unfit  to  be  at  the  head  of  an  army,  who  is  capable 
^  of  being  influenced  by  the  calumnies  or  caprice  of 
those  whom  he  is  appointed  to  command." 

EPAMINONDAS. 

[Neither  bribes  nor  promises  could  gain  Epami- 
nondas  from  the  interests  of  his  country,  nor  would 
threatenings  or  danger  make  him  betray  its  honour. 
It  was  this  noble  ardour  for  his  country,  that  made 
him  go  and  fight  for  it  as  a  private  sentinel,  when 
his  ungrateful  countrymen  had  been  induced,  by  the 
prevailing  faction,  to  strip  him  of  all  his  posts. 

The  Persians  knowing  of  what  consequence  it 
would  be  to  bring  Epaminondas  over  to  their  interests, 
spared  no  means  to  effect  it ;  but  were  so  far  from 
succeeding,  that  he  gave  them  a  very  mortifying  re- 


PATRIOTISM.  7 
pulse.  DIomedon  of  Cyzicus,  in  particular,  had  been 
sent  to  offer  him  a  large  sum  of  money,  and  had  even 
gained  over  a  favourite  of  his,  named  Micythus. 
Epaminondas  rejected  the  offer  with  the  scorn  and 
indignation  of  a  true  patriot,  saying,  that  he  would 
never  set  the  wealth  of  the  whole  world  in  compe- 
tition with  the  interest  of  his  country.  "  It  is  plain  " 
said  he  to  the  Persian  agent,  that  you  do  not  know 
me  ;  but  let  me  advise  you  to  make  the  best  of  your 
way  home,  before  you  attempt  to  corrupt  another 
Theban." 

The  behaviour  of  Epaminondas  to  Jason  was  still 
more  noble.  Jason  had  gone  to  Thebes  to  negociate 
a  peace  ;  and  as  he  did  not  doubt  that  Epami- 
nondas's  narrow  circumstances  would  induce  him  to 
accept  some  present,  he  tried  to  gain  his  friend- 
ship  by  one  so  valuable,  that  it  was  not  likely  to 
be  refused  by  an  indigent  person.  ''This  attempt 
to  corrupt  me,-  said  Epaminondas,  refusing  the  bribe, 
"  i  resent  as  the  greatest  indignity  that  can  be  offered 
to  me  and  shall  look  upon  it  in  no  other  view  than 
as  a  declaration  of  war;  and  as  I  am  born  a  member 
of  this  free  state,  I  shall  be  so  far  from  selling  the 
freedom  of  voting  to  my  fellow  citizens,  that  I  will 
maintain  it  with  ail  my  might.'' 

Theanor  was  soon  after  despatched  to  Thebes  with 
presents  from  Arcesius.  When  the  Thebans  debated 
whether  or  notthey  should  be  accepted,  Epaminondas 
boldly  declared  against  it ;  and  addressing  himself  to 
Theanor,  said,  "Jason  resented  my  rejecting  the 
vast  presents  with  which  he  designed  to  corrupt  me ; 
and  I  gave  him  such  an  answer  as  his  attempt  de- 
served.   Your  offers  are  indeed  more  honourable, 


8  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

and  consistent  with  virtue,  and  as  such  we  esteem 
them ;  but  then  they  are  like  phjsic  to  a  man  in 
health.  Were  you,  or  any  of  our  allies,  who  ima- 
gined us  to  be  at  war,  and  incapable  of  maintaining 
it,  to  send  us  a  supply  of  men,  arms,  and  provisions, 
do  you  expect  we  should  accept  of  it,  when  you  found 
us  enjoying  a  profound  peace  ?  The  case  is  much 
the  same.  Your  generosity  has  made  you  look  upon 
us  as  sinking  under  the  poverty  of  our  condition ; 
whereas  that  very  poverty,  instead  of  being  burthen- 
some  to  us,  we  look  upon  as  our  greatest  happiness, 
glory,  and  delight,  and  as  the  most  welcome  guest 
that* can  come  within  our  walls.  The  philosophers 
who  sent  you  here,  in  that,  made  the  noblest  use  they 
could  of  their  wealth,  and  you  may  assure^  them, 
that  we  highly  commend  and  thank  them  for  it :  but 
tell  them,  at  the  same  time,  that  we  make  the  right 
use  of  our  poverty."  Theanor,  still  desirous  to  en- 
gage him  to  accept  something  valuable  from  him, 
begged  that  he  would  take  at  least  as  much  as  would 
reimburse  him  for  the  charges  which  Polymnus,  his 
father,  had  been  at  in  the  maintenance  and  funeral 
obsequies  of  his  late  preceptor.  Lysis.  Epaminondas 
replied,  *'That  Lysis  had  abundantly  repaid  him, 
in  the  pains  he  took  to  make  him  cherish  the  practice 
of  poverty."  In  vain  did  Theanor  endeavour  to 
make  him  sensible  of  the  necessity  of  acquiring  at 
least  an  honourable  competency ;  it  only  gave  the 
other  an  opportunity  of  displaying  his  talent  in 
praise  of  his  favourite  notion  of  poverty,  which  he 
did  with  such  forcible  reasoning  as  left  Theanor 
without  reply. 


PATRIOTISM. 


9 


LYCURGUS. 
When  Lycurgus,  by  his  institutes,  had  settled  the 
form  of  the  Spartan  commonwealth,  he  declared  he 
would  go  and  consult  the  Oracle  at  Delphos,  to  know 
whether  the  system  he  had  established  was  good  for 
the  people  ;  and  in  the  meantime  he  exacted  a  solemn 
oath  from  the  Spartans,  that  they  should  not  alter  any 
of  these  laws  until  he  returned.  The  Oracle  pro- 
nounced his  institution  beneficial  to  the  public,  of 
which  he  gave  notice  to  the  king,  senate,  and  people 
of  Sparta;  and  having  done  this,  he  went  into  a 
voluntary  banishment,  from  which  he  would  never 
return,  that  the  Spartans  might  not  be  freed  from  the 
oath  they  had  taken.  Lycurgus  died  in  Crete  ;  and 
fearing  the  Spartans  might  carry  his  remains  to  Sparta, 
as  a  pretence  for  making  innovations  or  alterations  in 
the  government,  he  gave  orders,  that  after  his  death, 
his  body  should  be  burnt,  and  the  ashes  thrown  into 
the  sea. 


CINCINNATUS. 
When  Herodotus,  taking  advantage  of  the  domestic 
troubles  at  Rome,  possessed  himself  of  the  capitol, 
the  Consul  Valerius  Publicola  repulsed  him,  but  fell 
at  the  head  of  his  troops.  Another  consul  was  now 
to  be  elected,  and  after  much  deliberation,  the  choice 
fell  on  Cincinnatus ;  in  consequence  of  which,  the 
senate  sent  deputies  to  him,  to  invite  him  to  come  and 
take  possession  of  the  magistracy.  He  was  then  at 
work  in  his  field,  and  being  his  own  ploughman,  he 


10  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

was  dressed  in  a  manner  suitable  to  that  profession. 
When  he  saw  the  deputies  coming  towards  him,  he 
stopped  his  oxen,  very  much  surprised  at  seemg  such 
a  number  of  persons,  and  not  knowing  what  they 
could  want  with  him. 

One  of  the  company  approached  him,  and  re- 
quested him  to  put  on  a  more  suitable  dress.  He 
went  into  his  hut,  and  having  put  on  other  clothes, 
he  presented  himself  to  those  who  were  waiting  for 
him  without  doors.  They  immediately  saluted  him 
Consul,  and  invested  him  with  the  purple  robe;  the 
lictors  ranged  themselves  before  him,  ready  to  obey 
his  orders,  and  begged  him  to  follow  them  to  Rome. 
Troubled  at  this  sight,  he  for  some  time  shed  tears  m 
silence.  At  last  recovering  himself,  he  said  only 
these  words  :  My  field  will  not  be  sown  this  year  1 
and  then  repaired  to  Rome. 

The  conduct  of  Cincinnatus  during  his  consulship, 
fully  showed  what  patriotism  and  greatness  of  soul 
had  inhabited  a  poor  wretched  cottage. 
vigour  and  prudence  of  his  measures,  he  appeased  the 
tumult,  and  reinstated  judiciary  proceedings,  which 
had  been  interrupted  during  many  years.  So  peace- 
ful a  government  could  not  fail  of  applause  ;  and  the 
people,  in  consequence,  expressed  their  entire  satis- 
faction with  it.  But  what  charmed  them  was,  that 
upon  the  expiration  of  his  term,  he  refused  to  be 
continued  in  office,  with  no  less  constancy  than  he 
had  pain  at  first  in  accepting  it.  The  senate,  in  par^ 
ticular,  forgot  nothing  that  might  induce  him  to 
comply  with  being  continued  in  the  consulship  ;  but 
ill  their  entreaties  and   solicitations  were  to  no 


purpose. 


PATRIOTISM.  11 

No  sooner  had  this  great  man  resigned  his  office, 
than  domestic  troubles  again  embroiled  the  state ;  and 
the  Roman  state  were  forced  to  declare,  that  the  com- 
monwealth required  a  dictator,  Cincinnatiis  was  imme- 
diately nominated  to  the  office  5  and  the  deputies  sent 
to  announce  it  to  him,  again  found  him  at  his  plough. 
He,  however,  accepted  the  office,  and  a  second  time 
saved  his  country. 

Cincinnatus  afterwards  received  the  honour  of 
the  most  splendid  triumph  that  ever  adorned  any 
general's  success,  for  having,  in  the  space  of  six- 
teen days,  during  which  he  had  been  invested  with 
the  dictatorship,  saved  the  Roman  camp  from  the 
most  imminent  danger;  defeated  and  cut  to  pieces  the 
army  of  the  enemy  ;  taken  and  plundered  one  of  their 
finest  cities,  and  left  a  garrison  in  it;  and,  lastly, 
gratefully  repaid  the  Tusculans,  who  had  sent  an  army 
to  their  assistance. 

Such  were  a  few  of  the  advantages  which  this  great 
patriot  rendered  his  country. 

Sensible  of  their  obligations,  and  desirous  to  con- 
vince him  of  their  regard  and  gratitude,  the  senate  made 
him  an  offer  of  as  much  of  the  land  he  had  taken 
from  the  enemy  as  he  should  think  proper  to  accept, 
with  as  many  slaves  and  cattle  as  were  necessary  to 
stock  it.  He  returned  them  his  thanks,  but  would 
accept  of  nothing  but  a  crown  of  gold  of  a  pound 
weight,  decreed  him  by  the  army.  He  had  no  pas- 
sion or  desire  beyond  the  field  he  cultivated,  and  the 
laborious  life  he  had  embraced ;  more  glorious  and 
contented  with  his  poverty,  than  others  with  the  em- 
pire of  the  world. 


12 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


FAITHFUL  DEPUTIES. 
Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  King  of  Egypt,  having  sent 
to  desire  the  friendship  of  the  Roman  people,  an  em- 
bassy was  despatched  from  Rome  in  the  following 
year  to  return  the  civility.  The  ambassadors  were 
Q.  Fabius  Gurges,  Cn.  Fabius  Pictor,  with  Numerius, 
his  brother,  and  Q.  Ogulnius.  The  disinterested  air 
with  which  they  appeared,  sufficiently  indicated  the 
greatness  of  their  souls.  Ptolemy  gave  them  a 
splendid  entertainment,  and  took  that  opportunity  to 
present  each  of  them  with  a  crown  of  gold,  which 
they  received  because  they  were  unwilling  to  dis- 
oblige him  by  declining  the  honour  he  intended  them ; 
but  they  went  the  next  morning,  and  placed  them  on 
the  heads  of  the  king's  statues  erected  in  the  public 
parts  of  the  city.  The  king  likewise  having  tendered 
them  very  considerable  presents  at  their  audience  of 
leave,  they  received  them  as  they  before  accepted  of 
the  crowns ;  but  before  they  went  to  the  senate,  to 
give  an  account  of  their  embassy  after  their  arrival  at 
Rome,  they  deposited  ail  those  presents  in  the  public 
treasury,  and  made  it  evident,  by  so  noble  a  conduct, 
that  persons  of  honour  ought,  when  they  serve  the 
public,  to  propose  no  other  advantage  to  themselves 
than  the  honour  of  acquitting  themselves  well  of 
their  duty.  The  republic,  however,  would  not  suffer 
itself  to  be  exceeded  in  generosity  of  sentiment. 
The  senate  and  people  came  to  a  resolution,  that  the 
ambassadors,  in  consideration  of  the  services  they  had 
rendered  the  state,  should  receive  a  sum  of  money 
equivalent  to  what  they  had  deposited  in  the  public 
treasury. 


PATRIOTISM. 


13 


PEDARETUS. 
When  Pedaretus,  the  Spartan,  raissed  the  honour  of 
being  elected  one  of  tlie  three  hundred  who  held  a 
distinguislied  rank  in  the  city,  he  vventhome  extremely 
well  satisfied,  saying,  he  was  overjoyed  to  find  that 
there  were  three  hundred  men  in  Sparta  more  honour- 
abJe  than  himself. 

INTREPID  PRIEST. 
Ill  the  year  1148,  the  Venedi  having  overrun  the 
vvhole  provnice  of  Wagraa,  came  before  the  little  town 
of  Susie,  which  at  that  juncture  had  not  above  an 
hundred  men  in  it.  The  Venedi  troops,  consisting  of 
tnree  thousand  men,  set  fire  to  all  the  avenues,  and 
began  to  attack  the  place  with  the  utmost  fury  •  but 
perceiving  by  the  brave  resistance  of  the  townsmen, 
that  they  should  pay  dear  for  their  conquest,  they 
proposed  a  capitulation,  and  offered  not  to  touch  the 
lives  or  hmbs  of  the  inhabitants,  on  their  laying  down 
their  arms  and  quitting  this  fortress. 

The  people  in  the  town  were  eager  to  close  with 
these  conditions  ;  when  a  priest,  named  Gerlau,  thus 
harangued  them.     -  Countrymen,  consider  well  the 
consequences  of  surrendering.   Do  you  imagine  such^ 
submission  will  save  your  Jives  ?    That  there  is  .^ny 
.  faith  m  these  barbarians?  Can  you  be  ignorant,  that 
of  all  foreigners,  the  Venedi  hate  the  Frisians  most  ? 
Our  very  name  they  hold  in  detestation.    I  conjure 
you,  my  triends,  by  the  great  Creator  of  the  earth 
^vho  IS  able  to  protect  us  ogainst  anv  numbers  I 


14  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

conjure  you  to  exert  your  strength,  and  renew  your 
efforts.    Whilst  within  this  fence,  we  are  masters  of 
our  hands,  masters  of  our  weapons,  and  have  hopes 
of  savins  our  lives ;  but  once  disarmed,  our  fate  will 
be  an  ianorainious  death.    Take  then  your  swords, 
which  the  enemy  would  fain  get  from  you  without 
fighting;  drench  them  in  their  blood;  revenge  your 
slaughtered  friends  and  relations  ;  give  these  strangers 
a  sample  of  your  courage  ;  make  them  feel  you  are 
men,  and  determine  to  sell  your  lives  as  dear  as  pos- 
sible." .  ^, 

These  words  he  seconded  with  a  suitable  action ; 
for  throwing  open  the  gates,  he  rushed  towards  the 
enemy,  laid  numbers  of  them  at  his  feet,  and  though 
he  lost  an  eye,  and  was  wounded  in  the  body,  con- 
tinued fighting  with  indefatigable  impetuosity  ;  when 
the  townsmen  joined  him,  and  repulsed  the  enemy, 
notwithstanding  a  vast  superiority  of  numbers. 


MAGNA  CHARTA. 
Nothing  could  be  more  solemn  or  impressive  than 
the  manner  in  which  Henry  III.,  in  the  thirty-seventh 
year  of  his  reign,  ratified  Magna  Charta.  The  kmg, 
with  all  his  nobles,  the  bishops,  and  chief  prelates  m 
their  clerical  robes  and  ornaments,  with  burning 
candles  in  their  hands,  assembled  to  hear  the  terrible 
sentence  of  excommunication  pronounced  against 
those  who  should  infringe  the  great  charter.  The 
candles  being  lighted,  the  king  gave  his  to  a  prelate, 
saying,  it  becomes  not  me,  being  no  priest,  to  hold 
this  candle  ;  my  heart  shall  be  a  greater  testimony  ; 
and  then  laid  his  hand  on  his  breast,  while  the  sea- 


PATRIOTISM.  15 

teuce  of  excommunication  ^vas  pronounced.  This 
done,  he  caused  tlie  charter  of  King  John,  liis  father, 
be  openly  read.  Then  having  thrown  away  their 
candles,  which  lay  smokingontheground,  they  uttered 
a  soJernn  curse  against  those  wlio incurred  the  sentence; 
tlie  king,  >vith  a  loud  voice,  exclaiming,  "  As  God 
me  help,  I  will,  as  I  am  a  man,  a  Christian,  a  kniglit, 
a  king,  crowned  and  anointed,  inviolably  observe 
all  these  things.''  The  beh's  then  rung,  and  the 
people  shouted  for  joy. 

Notwithstanding  these  solemn  protestations,  the 
king  soon  broke  his  oath  ;  so  that  at  a  Parliament  held 
at  London,  in  the  forty-second  year  of  his  reign,  the 
barons  bound  him  to  release  them  from  their  alle- 
giance, whenever  he  infringed  the  charter. 


THE   STATES   GENERAL  OE  EORMER 
TIMES. 

When  Philip  the  Third,  King  of  Spain,  sent  his 
ambassador  to  treat  with  the  states  of  Holland  about 
their  independence,  he  was  showu  into  an  anti- 
chamber,  ^vhere  he  waited  to  see  the  members  of  the 
states  pass  by.  He  staid  for  some  time,  and  seeing 
none  but  a  parcel  of  plain  dressed  men  with  bundles 
in  their  hands  (which,  as  many  came  from  distant 
provinces,  contained  their  linen  and  provisions),  he 
turned  to  his  interpreter,  and  asked  him  when  the 
states  would  come  ?  The  man  replied,  that  those 
were  the  members  whom  he  saw  go  by.  The  envoy,  on 
this,  wrote  to  the  commanders-in-chief  of  the  Spanish 
army  to  advise  the  king,  his  master,  to  make  peace  as 
c  <2 


16  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

soon  as  possible.  In  his  letter  was  this  remarkable 
passage  :  I  expected  to  have  seen  in  the  states  a 
splendid  appearance;  but  instead  of  that,  I  saw  only 
a  parcel  of  plain  dressed  men,  with  sensible  faces, 
who  came  into  council  with  their  provisions  in  their 
hands.  Their  parsimony  will  ruin  the  king,  my 
master,  in  the  course  of  the  war,  if  it  be  continued, 
for  there  is  no  contending  with  people,  whose  nobles 
can  live  upon  a  shilling  a  day,  and  will  do  every  thing 
for  the  service  of  the  country."  The  king,  struck 
with  this  account,  agreed  to  treat  with  them  as  an 
independent  state,  and  to  put  an  end  to  the  war. 

DAKING  ENTEKPRTSE. 
WhenBornholm  was  obliged  to  submit  to  the  Swedes, 
on  account  of  their  superiority  in  the  Baltic,  Mr. 
Jens  Koefod,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Paul  Anker,  projected 
the  resolute  plan  of  throwing  off  the  Swedish  yoke, 
and  appointed  for  the  accomplishment  of  their  pur- 
pose, the  day  on  which  Prindsenkiold,  the  Swedish 
commander,  Vas  to  pass  from  Fort  Hammershuus  to 
Hasle  and  Roenne,  to  collect  the  taxes.   Mr.  Koefod, 
on  horseback,  with  five  followers,  went  in  search  of 
Prindsen  kiold,  whom  he  found  at  the  house  of  the 
Burgomaster  at  Roenne.    Mounting  a  guard  before 
the  door,  Mr.  Koefod,  with  his  little  party,  entered 
the  house,  and  declaring  themselves  to  be  Danes, 
ordered  Prindsenkiold,  as  their  enemy,  to  surrender 
on  pain  of  death.    The  Swede  obeyed  ;  but  having 
shortly  afterwards  attempted  to  escape,  a  musket  shot 
arrested  his  progress. 

Having  thus  commenced  the  glorious  task  of  res- 


PATRIOTISM.  17 
cuing  their  country  frora  a  foreign  yoke,  Mr.  Koefod 
and  one  of  his  followers  seized  two  horses  belonging 
to  Prindsenkiold,  and  rode  from  village  to  vilTacre 
to  raise   men.     Citizens,  clergy,  and  peasantry, 
crowded  with  arms  to  the  churches,  and  the  next 
morning  made  theirappearance  before  Hammershuus; 
when  the  Swedes,  dismayed  by  their  formidable  ap- 
pearance, and  the  loss  of  their  own  leader,  surren- 
dered.   The  inhabitants  then  took  possession  of  the 
country,  confined  their  prisoners,  and  sent  to  Copen- 
hagen for  a  commander-in-chief  ;  but  no  one  arriving 
-for  some  time,  Mr.  Jens  Koefod,  with  the  consent  of 
his  countrymen,  assumed  the  office,  and  discharsed 
it  faithfully.  ^ 


A  HOTTENTOT  -BOY. 
A  Hottentot  boy,  taken  from  his  cradle,  and  bred 
^ip  in  the  manners  of  the  Prench  Colonists,  voyaged 
to  India,  where  he  engaged  in  the  trade  for  many 
years.  In  the  course  of  his  mercantile  transactions 
iie  visited  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope ;  and  naturally 
desirous  of  seeing  the  spot  in  which  he  was  born,  as 
well  as  of  visiting  his  relatives,  he  went  to  their  huts. 
Hethere  beheld  them  clad  in  sheepskins,  and  disfigured 
With  oil ;  but  after  staying  a  short  time  with  them,  be- 
came so  attached  to  the  spot,  and  so  charmed  with  the 
smnplicity  of  their  lives  and  manners,  that  he  resolved 
to  quit  the  society  to  which  he  Iiad  been  accustomed, 
and  to  adopt  the  more  barbarous  language,  manners, 
and  habits  of  his  relatives.  With  this  view,  he  re- 
turned to  the  Cape,  and  obtaining  an  audience  of  the 
governor,   thus   addressed  him  :      I  liave  returned 


18  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

from  the  huts  of  my  relatives,  in  order  to  inform  you 
that  1  have  resolved  to  renounce  the  mode  of  life  you 
have  taught  me  to  embrace.  I  v^^ill  follow  the  man- 
ners and  religion  of  ray  ancestors,  to  the  day  of  my 
death ;  I  will  keep  this  collar  and  sword  which  you 
have  given  me,  as  a  mark  of  my  affection  :  but  all  the 
rest  of  my  habiliments  and  property  I  shall  leave 
behind  me."  Saying  this,  he  ran  out  of  the  chamber, 
and  was  never  seen  or  heard  of  after. 

THE  PERSIANS. 

The  mountains  near  Shiraz  in  Persia  are  desolate  and 
dreary  ;  yet  so  attached  are  the  Persian  shepherds  to 
them,  that  when  the  British  secretary  of  embassy  was 
observing  their  height  and  sterility,  one  of  them  en- 
quired with  an  air  of  exultation,  whether  his  country 
could  boast  of  any  thing  like  them  ?    And  when 
Mirza  Abul  Hassan,  the  Persian  ambassador,  was  in 
England,  he  replied  to  an  argument,  relative  to  the 
comparative  beauty  of  England  and  Persia ;     It  is 
true,  we  have  not  such  fine  houses,  adorned  with 
looking  glasses,  as  you  have  5  no  carriages,  nor  are  we 
rich  ;  but  we  have  better  fruit,  and  we  see  the  sun 
almost  every  day.*' 

GREENLANDERS  IN  DENMARK. 

In  the  historical  introduction  to  a  volume  of  Hans 
Egede,  is  related  an  account  of  several  Greenlanders 
who  v/ere  imported  into  Denmark.  The  king  desired 
that  particular  attention  might  be  paid  to  them. 
Milk,  cheese,  butter,  raw  flesh,  and  fish,  were  served 
up  to  them  in  abundance  ;  and  every  thing  was  done 


PATRIOTISM.  19 

that  was  thought  likely  to  captivate  tlieiii,  but  notliiug 
was  able  to  divert  their  melancholy.  Their  country 
was  ever  uppermost  in  their  minds ;  and  they  were 
observed  continually  to  turn  a  wistful  and  desponding 
look  towards  the  north.  Three  of  them  fell  sick,  and 
died  ;  two  pined  away  with  regret ;  and  one  of  them 
was  observed  frequently  to  shed  tears,  whenever  he 
saw  a  child  at  the  breast  of  its  mother.  They  made 
several  attempts  to  escape,  but  without  success.  At 
length  one  of  them  succeeded,  and  it  is  supposed  was 
overwhelmed  by  the  sea  in  his  little  boat,  as  he  was 
-  never  heard  of  afterwards. 


NOBLE  RECONCILIATIOF. 

Tavo,  the  Archbishop  of  Lund,  and  Iver  Axeisen^ 
an  opulent  landholder  in  Schonen,  had  a  very  serious 
quarrel,  which  they  were  on  the  point  of  deciding  by 
a  duel,  when  Charles  Kundsen,  King  of  Sweden,  un- 
expectedly invaded  Schonen,  at  the  time  that  no 
assistance  could  be  obtained  from  Denmark,  on  ac- 
count of  the  Sound  being  nearly  covered  with  ice. 
The  enemy  ransacked  the  country,  and  advancing 
rapidly  towards  Lund,  the  capital,  summoned  the 
archbishop  to  surrender.  Iver  Axelsen,  seeing  his 
country  in  danger,  instantly  forgot  all  personal  enmity 
in  a  wish  to  promote  the  public  good ;  and  calling 
upon  the  archbishop,  he  said,  "  The  common  enemy 
is  at  our  door,  and  we  cannot  hope  for  any  relief  from 
our  king.  Let  us,  therefore,  now  unite ;  our  own  dis- 
pute should  await  till  a  better  opportunity  presents 
itself.  We  will  combine  our  counsel  and  our  strength  ; 
the  welfare  of  our  country  demands  it  from  us.  En- 


20 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


deavour  to  gain  an  armistice  from  Charles  Kundsen, 
even  if  it  is  but  for  a  few  days  ;  I  will  in  the  mean- 
time collect  as  many  troops  as  possible. " 

The  archbishop,  who  had  bravely  defended  him- 
self, and  despised  the  threats  of  the  invader,  accepted 
the  proposition  of  Iver  Axelsen.  They  acted  in 
concert  against  the  enemy,  and  thereby  became 
strong  enough,  not  only  to  check  his  progress,  but 
even  to  repulse  him, 

.  VETERAN  PATRIOT. 
When  General  Tilly,  with  a  numerous  army,  was 
preparing  to  attack  Holstein,  Christian  the  Fourth 
summoned  the  states  of  his  kingdom  to  attend  at 
Rendsboorg,  to  concert  measures  for  the  defence  of 
the  realm.  In  this  assembly,  Geert  Rantzau,  Stadt- 
holder  of  Holstein,  rose,  and  in  an  eloquent  speech, 
urged  the  necessity  of  encountering  the  enemy  before 
he  had  reached  their  frontiers.  He  recommended  to 
the  nobility  to  lead  personally  into  the  field  as  many 
troops  as  they  should  be  able  to  collect,  saying, 
"  Although  I  am  now  upwards  of  sixty-eight  years 
old,  and  have  very  indifferent  health,  yet  it  is  certainly 
my  firm  intention  to  march  against  the  enemy ;  and  I 
therefore  trust  to  the  patriotism  and  loyalty  of  my 
countrymen,  who  I  doubt  not  will  follow  my  ex- 
ample." 

The  nobility  encouraged  by  the  patriotic  ardour  of 
the  veteran,  followed  his  example,  and  Holstein  was 
saved.  When  Rantzau  died,  he  was  attended  to  the 
grave  by  Christian  the  Fourth,  who  refused  to  mount 
a  horse,  richly  caparisoned  for  his  service,  saying. 


PATRIOTISM.  21 

Geert  Raiitzau  often  trudged  on  foot  for  our  sakes, 
)w  let  us  walk  for  his." 


LIBERATION  OF  DRONTHEIM. 

At  the  peace  of  Roeskilde,  the  diocese  of  Dron- 
theim  was  ceded  to  Sweden,  and  taken  possession  of 
hy  Governor  Stiernshild.  The  brave  Norwegians, 
incensed  that  a  haughty  conqueror  should  rule  over 
them,  burned  with  ardour  to  emancipate  themselves, 
but  were  restrained  from  attempting  it,  by  a  consider- 
ation that  treaties  should  be  held  sacred. 

But  scarcely  had  Charles  Gustavus  sounded  the 
tocsin  of  war,  than  the  Norwegians,  rushing  from 
their  mountains  like  a  tremendous  torrent,  meditated 
a  dreadful  vengeance  on  their  foes.  Ten  thousand 
men  rose  in  arms,  and  took  the  road  to  Drontheim. 
When  General  Bielke,  the  commander-in-chief  in 
Norway,  heard  of  this  event,  he  despatched  General 
Reichwein  to  take  the  command  of  those  heroes. 
The  whole  diocese  of  Drontheim  declared  against  the' 
Swedes,  and  eagerly  rallied  under  the  standard  of 
Denmark. 

This  intelligence  reaching  Sweden,  a  body  of 
troops  was  ordered  to  march  to  the  support  of  Dron- 
theim ;  but  the  Norwegian  peasantry  met  them  on 
their  frontiers,  and  gave  them  such  a  reception,  that  all 
hopes  of  invading  Norway  were  relinquished.  Other 
bodies  of  peasantry  marched  against  Drontheim, 
which,  as  well  as  the  whole  diocese,  the  Swedish 
governor  found  himself  compelled  to  surrender. 


22 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


^  ROMAN  SENATOR. 

The  Emperor  Vespasian  laid  his  peremptory  com- 
mands on  a  senator,  to  give  his  vote  against  the  inter- 
ests of  his  country,  and  threatened  hira  with  imme- 
diate death,  in  case  he  spoke  the  least  word  in  favour 
of  the  other  party.  The  intrepid  patriot,  conscious 
that  through  his  prevailing  influence^  there  was^  a 
chance  of  saving  the  people  of  Rome  from  utter  ruin, 
answered  with  a  smile, Did  I  ever  tell  you  I  was 
immortal  ?  my  virtue  is  at  my  own  disposal  ;  my  life 
I  know  is  'at  yours  ;  do  then  what  you  will,  1  shall  do 
what  I  ought ;  and  if  I  fall  in  the  service  of  my 
country,  I  shall  have  more  triumph  in  my  death,  than 
you  in  all  your  laurels." 


BOADICEA. 

"  Great  Boadicea,  glory  of  thy  race, 

Britannia's  honour,  and  thy  foe's  disgrace; 

In  burning  fancy  1  behold  each  fight 

Where  female  valour  warr'd  for  Albion's  right : 

Thy  very  fall  perpetuates  thy  fame, 

And  Suetonius'  laurels  droop  with  shame." 

T.  DIBDIX. 

Boadicea,  Queen  of  the  Iceni,  who  had  been 
insulted  in  her  person  and  in  her  family,  took  advan- 
tage of  the  absence  of  Suetonius,  when  he  invaded 
Anglesey,  to  become  the  principal  mov^r  of  a  most 
formidable  revolt,  in  order  to  revenge  hei  own  wrongs, 
and  the  grievous  oppressions  of  the  people  under  the 


PATRIOTISM. 


23 


Roman  yoke.  Three  "Roman  stations  were  soon  laid 
in  ashes,  and  upwards  of  seventy  thousand  of  her 
persecutors  slain  ;  when  Boadicea's  army,  increased 
to  two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand,  was  met  by 
Suetonius,  who  with  all  liis  exertion  could  not  raise 
more  than  ten  thousand  men. 

With  this  army,  small  as  it  was,  he  determined  on 
hazarding  a  battle,  and  having  formed  his  army,  waited 
the  approach  of  the  Britons,  who  soon  appeared, 
covering  the  plains  with  immense  numbers.  Boadicea, 
with  her  daughters,  drove  in  her  chariot  along  the 
ranks,  renewing  the  detail  of  Roman  injustice,  and 
encouraging  her  troops  in  the  most  animating  lan- 
guage, while  Suetonius,  on  his  side,  did  not  neglect  to 
cheer  his  men  by  a  suitable  oration.  The  Britons 
came  on  uttering  loud  shouts,  menaces,  and  songs  of 
victory.  The  Romans,  closely  drawn  up,  awaited  the 
event  in  perfect  silence,  and  received  the  attack  of 
the  natives  with  great  firmness ;  having  then  expended 
all  their  javelins,  with  dreadful  carnage  of  the  enemy, 
they  rushed  forward  from  all  parts  at  once,  obsendng 
the  form  of  a  wedge,  the  more  easily  to  penetrate 
such  an  immense  multitude;  the  first  ranks  of  their 
opponents  were  hewn  in  pieces,  but  the  rest  crowding 
to  surround  the  Romans,  a  bloody  contest  ensued. 
The  British  war  chariots  occasioned  terrible  annoyance 
to  their  enemies,  until  Suetonius  ordered  his  men  to 
direct  their  blows  at  the  naked  bodies  of  the  drivers. 
The  action  was  long  maintained  with  fury  on  both 
sides  ;  but  finally,  the  superior  skill,  coolness,  and 
bravery  of  the  Romans,  triumphed  over  the  obstinacy " 
and  desperation  of  the  British.  Prodigious  numbers 
perished  beneath  the  swords  of  the  legions,  or  by  the 


24 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


charges  of  the  cavalry,  who  trampled  aii  before  them, 
while  the  crowds  that  endeavoured  to  save  tliemselves 
by  flight,  met  with  an  insurmountable  impediment  in 
their  own  waggons,  which  enclosed  them  in  the  form  of 
a  semicircle.  Here  the  slaughter  was  terrible ;  for 
mercy,  in  the  circumstances  of  Suetonius,  would  have 
been  in  the  highest  degree  imprudent.  The  Romans 
in  the  heat  of  their  fury,  spared  neither  age  nor  sex. 
Even  the  beasts  of  burden  struck  through  with  darts, 
increased  the  horrors  of  the  scene,  and  the  heaps  of 
dead  covered  the  plains,  the  fields,  and  the  sur- 
rounding forests.  Upwards  of  eighty  thousand 
Britons  are  computed  to  have  perished  on  this  occa- 
sion ;  while  of  the  Romans,  four  hundred  were  killed, 
and  scarcely  so  many  wounded. 

The  remaining  Britons,  terrified  at  this  dreadful 
chastisement,  departed  into  their  respective  districts  ^ 
and  Boadicea  perished  herself  soon  after  the  battle^^ 
either  through  chagrin  or  by  poison. 


RECAPTURE. 

Jacob  Dannefaer,  a  young  man  who  had  served  in 
the  war  of  1657  against  Sweden,  was  among  the 
number  of  Danes  who  were  delivered  up  to  Sweden 
in  pursuance  of  the  treaty  of  Roeskilde.  He  was, 
however,  taken  notice  of  by  Admiral  V^rangel,  who 
forced  him  into  his  service.  When  the  peace  was 
suddenly  broken  by  the  Swedes,  they  invaded  Zealand, 
laid  siege  to  Copenhagen,  and  took  Cronborg,  where 
they  found  an  immense  booty.  This  they  shipped 
in  a  vessel  for  Sweden  j  the  crew  were  entirely 


PATRIOTISM,  95 

pit;"'''"  ^"'^  ^  '■-^ 

The  tale  of  l,is  counlr;y's  sufferings,  excited  in 
Dannefaer  a  wish  to  render  Denmark  a  service  ll  " 
ever  penious  the  attempt.  He  consulted  vi'tl  h  s 
coun  rymen  on  board,  and  proposed  that  thej  should 
endeavour  to  se,ze  the  vessel ;  this  was  agreed  upon 

itZZZ'VT'  ""^  P"-''"^^'  eicution,  it 
was  a.ranged,  that  as  soon  as  a  sufficient  number  of 

,  "'f  <^o'"n>ander,  while  the  peasants  were  to 

.  close  the  hatches.    The  wished-for  moment  arriving 
Dannefaer  ordered  the  captain   to  surrender  but 

through  the  bo5; 

Dannefaer  tnen  turned  to  the  raate,  whom  he  cor^ 
landed  to  steer  for  Copenhagen,  and  stood  over  hfrn 
w  th  a  drawn  sword,  lest  he  might  disobey  his  orders 

part  of  the  patriotic  enterprise;  and  there  being  no 

fieasure  to  Copenhagen,  where  itwas  of  great  service 


A  GOOD  COUNSELLOR. 
In  the  reign  of  Richard  IL,  the  several  lords  and 
commissioners  who  had  confederated  together   o  t 
heve  their  country  from  tyranny  and  opLes°ion 

IntelLeT"""/.r-  ''"'"^^^  P-^'  Highg 
Sl?CV  r  king,afa'tim 
whenbirHugo  deLyn(who  wasthought  to  bedcranged) 


26  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

was  present.  The  king  turned  to  him,  and  asked 
him  what  he  should  do  with  these  men  ?  The  old 
knight  answered,  with  a  smiling  countenance,  ^  i.et 
us  march  out  and  kill  every  man  of  them  ;  and  then 
you  will  have  destroyed  the  worthiest  men  and  the 
best  subjects  in  your  dominions." 

ROYAL  OCCUPATIONS. 
Alonzo  the  Fourth,  surnamed  the  Brave,  ascended 
the  throne  of  Portugal  in  the  vigour  of  his  age.  Ihe 
pleasures  of  the  chase  engrossed  his  whole  attention ; 
his  confidants  and  favourites  encouraged  and  allured 
him  to  it;  his  time  was  spent  in  the  forest,  while  the 
affairs  of  government  were  neglected,  or  executed  by 
those  whose  interest  it  was  to  keep  their  sovereign  in 
ianorance.    His  presence,  at  last,  being  essential  at 
Lisbon,  he  entered  the  council  with  all  the  impetuosity 
and  fervour  of  a  juvenile  sportsman  ;.  and,  with  great 
familiarity  and  gaiety,  entertained  his  nobles  with  tlie 
history  of  a  whole  monthspent  in  huntmg,  fishing,  and 
shooting.  When  he  had  finished  his  narrative,  a  noble- 
man of  the  first  rank  rose  up. "  Courts  and  camps,  said 
he  "  are  allowed  for  kings,  not  woods  and  deserts. 
Even'the  affairs  of  private  men  suffer,  when  recreation 
is  preferred  to  bushiess  ;  but  when  the  phantasies  of 
pleasure  engross  the  thoughts  of  a  king,  a  whole 
nation  is  consigned  to  ruin.    We  came  here  for  other 
purposes  than  to  hear  the  exploits  of  a  chase.  If 
vour  majesty  will  attend  to  the  wants,  and  remove  the 
grievances,  of  your  people,  you  will  find  them  obe- 
dient subjects  ;  if  not,"—  The  king  starting  with 
rage,  interrupted  him :  -  If  not,  what  ?"  "  If  not, 


PATRIOTISM.  27 

resumed  tlie  nobleman,  in  a  firm  and  manly  tone, 
**  they  will  look  for  another  and  a  better  kingT 
Alonzo,  in  the  highest  transports  of  passion,  expressed 
his  resentment,  and  hastened  out  of  the  room.  In  a 
little  time,  however,  he  returned  calm  and  reconciled. 
"I  perceive/'  said  he,  the  truth  of  what  you  say ; 
he  who  will  not  execute  the  duties  of  a  king,  cannot 
long  have  good  subjects.  Remember,  from  this  day 
forward,  I  am  no  longer  Alonzo  the  sportsman,  but 
Alonzo,  King  of  Portugal."  His  majesty  kept  his 
resolve  with  the  most  rigid  observance,  and  became 
as  a  warrior  and  a  politician,  the  greatest  of  the 
Portuguese  monarchs. 


CORSICAN  YOUTH. 
During  the  patriotic  war  in  Corsica,  the  nephew  of 
a  criminal  condemned  to  death,  went  to  General 
Paoli,  in  company  with  a  lady  of  distinction,  to  solicit 
the  life  of  his  uncle.    The  nephew's  anxiety  made 
him  think  that  the  lady  did  not  speak  with  sufficient 
force  and  earnestness.    He  therefore  advanced,  and 
addressing  Paoli,  said,    Sir,  is  it  proper  for  me  to 
speak      as  if  he  felt  that  it  was  unlawful  he  should 
make  such  an  application.    Paoli  bade  him  proceed. 
**  Sir,''  said  he,  "  may  I  beg  the  life  of  my  uncle? 
If  it  is  granted,  his  relations  will  make  a  gift  to  the 
state  of  a  thousand  zechins.    We  will  furnish  fifty 
soldiers  in  pay  during  the  siege  of  Furiani.  We 
M'ill  agree  that  my  uncle  shall  be  banished,  and  will 
engage  that  he  shall  never  return  to  the  island." 
Paoli  knew  the  nephew  to  be  a  man  of  worth,  and 
replied,  "  You  are  acquainted  with  the  circumstances 
D  2 


28  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

of  this  case,  and  such  is  my  confidence  in  you,  that 
if  you  will  say,  that  giving  your  uncle  a  pardon 
would  be  just,  useful,  or  honourable  for  Corsica,  I 
promise  you  it  shall  be  granted/'  Though  the  affec- 
tion between  relations  is  exceedingly  strong  in  the 
Corsicans,  the  young  man  turned  round,  burst  into 
tears,  and  quitted  the  general,  saying,  Non  vorrei 
vendere  Tonore  della  patria  per  mille  zechini."  **  I 
would  not  have  the  honour  of  my  country  sold  for  a 
thousand  zechins  j"  and  the  uncle  suffered. 


GERSDORFF. 

Charles  Gustavus,  King  of  S  weden,  returning  from 
Poland  with  his  victorious  troops,  entered  Holstein, 
which  he  soon  conquered  ;  a  severe  frost  had  bound 
the  waters,  so  that  he  crossed  from  Jutland  to  Funen, 
and  thence  to  Zealand,  with  the  utmost  facility. 
The  Danes  attempted  to  stop  his  rapid  progress  in 
vain,  and  Charles  made  his  appearance  before  Copen- 
hagen at  the  head  of  his  whole  arm^^. 

Frederic  the  Third,  King  of  Denmark,  fearing  to 
put  the  fate  of  his  empire  to  the  hazard  of  the  day, 
thought  it  expedient  to  sue  for  peace  ;  and  Charles, 
with  some  hesitation,  consented  to  a  negociation, 
demanding,  however,  besides  other  advantages,  that 
there  should  be  delivered  upto  him,  Schonen, Holland, 
Bleking,  Bahuus,  Drontheim,  Bornholm,  and  some 
domains  belonging  to  Denmark,  in  the  island  of 
Kugen. 

Joachim  Gersdorff,  one  of  the  deputies  on  the  part 
of  Denmark,  fired  with  indignation  at  the  haughty 


PATRIOTISM.  29 
terms  of  the  enemy,  remonstrated  with  firmness  ;  but 
was  at  length  compelled  to  yield.  When  this 
patriot  took  up  the  pen  to  sign  the  fatal  treaty,  he 
turned  round  and  emphatically  said,  "  Vellem  me 
nescire  litteras." 

^  GersdortF  displayed  equal  zeal  at  the  subsequent 
siege  of  Copenhagen  ;  the  city  being  at  that  time 
but  ill  provided  with  accommodation  for  the  wounded 
Dutch  who  had  suffered  in  fighting  their  passage 
through  the  Sound,  he  generously  subscribed  four 
-  thousand  rix  dollars  for  their  relief. 

ANDREW  MARVELL. 
This  virtuous  patriot  represented  his  native  town  of 
Kingston  upon  Hull,  for  a  period  of  twenty  years; 
and  was  the  last  member  of  parliament  who  received 
pay  from  his  constituents,  the  sum  being  four  shil- 
lings a  day  !  Although  he  frequently  attacked  King 
Charles  the  Second  in  his  satires,  yet  the  king  was 
very  fond  of  his  conversation,  and  tried  every  means 
to  win  him  over  to  his  side,  but  in  vain.    His  inflex- 
ible integrity  of  principle  was  proof  against  all  temp- 
tations, either  of  his  own  distresses  (and  he  was  often 
reduced  to  great  poverty),  or  of  the  large  offers  made 
him  by  the  court,which  was  earnestin  the  endeavouring 
to  gain  a  man  of  his  talents  and  character  on  their  side. 
^  The  king  having  had  Marvell  at  the  palace  one 
night,  when  he  was  most  cordially  and  splendidly 
entertained,  sent  the  lord  treasurer,  Danby,  the  next 
morning,  to  find  out  his  lodgings  ;  which  were  then 
up  two  pair  of  stairs,  in  one  of  the  little  courts  in  the 
Strand.    Here  he  was  busily  engaged  in  writing. 
D  3 


1^ 


St)  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

when  the  treasurer  abruptly  opened  the  door  upon 
him.   Surprised  at  seeing  ^uch  an  unexpected  visitor, 
he  told  his  lordship,  he  had,  he  believed,  mistaken 
his  way  ;  "  Notnow  I  havefound  Mr.  Marvel^'  replied 
the  Lord  Danby:   he  then  assured  him  he  was 
expressly  sent  to  him  from  the  king,  and  his  message 
was  to  know  what  his  majesty  could  do  to  serve  hira  ? 
"It  is  not  in  his  majesty's  power  to  serve  me,  my 
lord,"  answered  Mr.  Marveli,  jocularly  ;  but  the  lord 
treasurer   making  a  serious  affair  of  it,   he  told 
him  that  he  full  well  knew  the  nature  of  courts, 
having  been  in  many  ;  and  that  whoever  is  distin- 
guished by  the  favour  of  the  prince,  is  always  ex- 
pected to  vote  in  his  interest.  Lord  Danby  told  hira, 
that  his  majesty,  from  the  just  sense  he  had  of  his 
merit  alone,  desired  to  know  whether  there  was  any 
place   at  court  he  could  be  pleased  with  ?  Mr. 
Marveli  replied  with  the  utmost  steadiness,  that  he 
could  not  with  honour  accept  the  offer,  since  if  he 
did,  he  must  either  be  ungrateful  to  the  king  in  voting 
against  him,  or  false  to  his  country  in  giving  in  to 
the  measures  of  the  court :  the  only  favour  which  he 
begged  therefore  of  his  majesty,  was,  that  he  would 
esteem  him  as  dutiful  a  subject  as  any  he  had,  and 
acting  more  truly  in  his  proper  interest,  while  thus 
he  refused  his  offers,  than  he  could  possibly  do, 
should  he  accept  them.    The  lord  treasurer  finding 
his  solicitations  to  be  quite  fruitless,  and  that  no 
arguments  could  prevail  on   him   to  accept  any 
post  under  the  government,  told  him  the  king  had 
ordered  him  a  thousand  pounds;  which  my  lord 
hoped  he  would  receive,  'till  he  could  think  what 
farther  to  ask  of  his  majesty.    But  Mr,  Marveli  con- 


PATRIOTISM.  31 
tinned  equallj^  inflexible  to  this  temptation,  and 
rejected  the  money  with  the  same  steadfastness 
of  mind  with  which  he  had  refused  the  proffer  of  a 
place  ;  though  he  was  at  that  instant  so  straitened 
for  want  of  cash,  that  he  was  obliged,  as  soon  as 
Lord  Danbj  took  his  Jeave,  to  send  to  a  friend  to 
borrow  a  guinea  ;  so  far  did  the  love  of  public  good 
over-rule  all  sense  of  private  interest  in  his  honest 
heart. 


REVOLTERS  RECLAIMED. 
When  Procopius  usurped  the   imperial  purple, 
Arbetio,  a  respectable  veteran  of  the  great  Constantine, 
who  had  been  distinguished  by  the  honours  of  the 
consulship,  was  persuaded  to"  leave  his  retirement, 
and  once  more  to  conduct  an  army  to  the  iield.  In 
the  heat  of  action,  calmly  taking  off  his  helmet,  he 
shewed  his  grey  hairs  and  venerable  countenance,  and 
saluting  the  soldiers  of  Procopius  by  the  endearing 
names  of  children  and  companions,  exhorted  them  no 
longer  to  support  the  desperate  cause  of  a  contempt- 
ible tyrant;  but  to  follow  their  old  commander,  who 
had  so  often  led  them  to  honour  and  victory.    In  the 
two  engagements  of  Thyatira,  and  Kaconia,  Proco- 
pius was  deserted  by  his  troops  ;  and  after  wandering 
some  time  among  the  woods  and  mountains  of  Phrygia, 
he  was  betrayed  by  his  desponding  followers,  con- 
ducted to  the  imperial  camp,  and  immediately  be- 
headed. 


32 


PERCY  ANECDOTES, 


GEORGE  L 
This  illustrious  monarch,  in  answer  to  a  petition  of 
the  lord  mayor  and  aldermen  of  the  city  of  London, 
on  the  6th  of  November,  1718,  said,  "  I  shall  be 
glad,  not  only  for  your  sakes,  but  for  my  own,  if  any 
defects  which  may  touch  the  rights  of  my  good  sub- 
jects are  discovered  in  my  time,  since  that  will  fur- 
nish me  with  the  means  of  giving  you,  and  all  my 
people,  an  indisputable  proof  of  my  tenderness  of 
their  privileges." 


EARL  OF  STAIR. 

The  Earl  of  Stair  was  as  much  celebrated  for  his 
patriotism,  as  for  his  polite  accomplishments,  gene- 
rosity, and  military  talents.  When  all  his  offices  and 
honours  were  taken  from  him  by  Sir  Robert  Walpole, 
for  voting  in  parliament  against  the  excise  scheme,  he 
retired  to  Scotland,  and  put  his  estate  into  the  hands 
of  trustees,  to  pay  bills  drawn  by  him  in  his  magnificent 
embassy  to  Paris,  which  administration  had  refused  to 
accept;  reserving  only  a  hundred  pounds  a  month 
for  himself.  During  this  period,  he  was  often  seen 
holding  the  plough  three  or  four  hours  at  a  time. 
Yet  on  receiving  visits  of  ceremony,  he  could  put  on 
the  great  man  and  the  great  style  of  living,  for  he 
was  fond  of  adorning  a  fine  person  with  a  graceful 
dress ;  and  two  French  horns  and  a  French  cook  had 
refused  to  quit  his  service  when  he  retired.^ 

When  the  messenger  brought  the  king's  letter 
for  him  to  take  the  command  of  the  army,  he  had 


PATRIOTISM.  33 
only  ten  pounds  in  the  house.    He  sent  expresses  for 
the  gentlemen  of  his  own  family,  shewed  the  king's 
letter,  and  desired  them  to  find  money  to  carry  him 
to  London.    They  asked  how  much  he  wanted,  and 
when  they  should  bring  it;  his  answer  was,  "the 
more  the  better,  and  the  sooner  the  better.''  They 
brought  him  three  thousand  guineas.    The  circum- 
stance came  to  the  king's  ears,  who  expressed  to  his 
ministers  the  uneasiness  he  felt  at  Lord  Stair's  dif- 
ficulties in  money  matters.    One  proposed  that  the 
king  should  make  him  a  present  of  a  sum  of  money 
when  he  arrived.    Another  said.  Lord  Stair  was  so 
high  spirited,  that  if  he  was  offered  money,  he  would 
run  back  to  his  own  country,  and  they  should  lose 
their  general.    A  third  suggested,  that  to  save  his 
delicacy,   the  king  should  give  him  six  commis- 
sions of  cornets  to  dispose  of,  which,  at  that  time, 
sold  for  a  thousand  pounds  a  piece.    The  king  liked 
this  idea  best,  and  gave  the  commissions  blank  to 
Lord  Stair,  saying,  they  were  intended  to  pay  for  his 
journey  and  equipage.    But  in  going  from  court  to 
his  own  house,  he  gave  all  the  six  away. 

The  best  princes  are  apt  to  forget  their  obligations 
to  their  best  subjects,  especially  when  they  dare  to 
oppose  their  high  will.  The  Earl  of  Stair  had  spoken 
and  voted,  as  he  thought  at  least,  for  the  good  of  his 
country  against  the  measures  of  the  court  and  ministry. 
Queen  Caroline,  the  next  time  she  saw  him  at  court 
after  his  obnoxious  behaviour  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
told  his  lordship  that  sh'e  was  sorry  he  went  out  of 
his  proper  sphere.  "  He  was  a  good  fellow^  she 
owned,  "  but  wished  he  would  not  da])hle  in  politics:' 
"Madam,"  said  the  earl,  'Mflhad  nor  some  year 


34  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

ago  meddled  in  political  matters,  I  should  never  have 

had  the  honour  to  see  your  majesty  at  St.  James's." 

SUSSEX  FISHERMAN. 

Soon  after  William  the  Third  had  been  raised  to 
the  throne  of  England,  a  French  ship  belonging  to 
the  fleet  of  Admiral  Tourville  took  prisoner  an  honest 
Sussex  fisherman.  The  admiral  was  then  preparing 
to  make  a  descent  upon  England  in  favour  of  King 
James;  and  intending  to  land  in  Sussex,  he  was 
earnest  to  know  how  the  people  of  that  county  stood 
affected  to  the  government.  He  ordered  the  fisher- 
man upon  deck,  and  began  himself  to  question  him 
how  he  and  his  neighbours  loved  King  James,  and 
how  the  Prince  of  Orange,  or  King  William  as  you 
call  him,  said  the  admiral ;  and  how  they  were  affected 
to  the  government.  The  fisherman  stared,  and  said, 
"  that  he  never  had  seen  either  of  the  gentlefolks  whom 
his  honour  was  pleased  to  mention,  in  his  life ;  that, 
mayhap,  they  were  very  civil  persons  ;  and  he  had  no 
ill-will  to  either  ;  God  bless  them  both:  as  to  matters 
of  government,  how  should  he  know  any  thing  of 
them,  for  he  could  neither  read  nor  write?"  The 
admiral  continued  to  question  him,  but  without  effect ; 
for  he  found  the  fellow  grossly  ignorant  of  all  public 
transactions.  At  last,  "  Come,  come,"  says  the  ad- 
miral, "  you  are  a  good  likely  fellow,  and  as  you  are 
so  very  indifferent  about  all  parties,  you  can  have  no 
objection  to  carrying  a  musket  in  ray  ship."  "  What ! 
carry  a  musket  to  fight  against  my  country !"  cried 
out  the  fellow  ;  "  indeed,  your  honour  must  excuse 
me ;  you  shall  put  me  to  a  thousand  deaths  before  I 
fight  against  my  country*" 


PATRIOTISM. 


35 


SIR  GEORGE  ROOKE. 

When  the  brave  Sir  George  Rooke  was  making  his 
will,  some  friends  who  were  present  expressed  their 
surprise  that  he  had  not  more  to  leave.  Why," 
said  the  worthy  man,  '*  I  do  not  leave  much,  but 
what  I  do  leave  was  honestly  acquired,  for  it  never 
cost  a  sailor  a  tear,  nor  my  country  a  farthing." 


SIR  HENRY  VANE. 

In  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  the  fees  of  Sir  Henry  Vane's 
office  as  treasurer  of  the  navy,  though  butfourpence  in 
the  pound,  by  reason  of  the  Dutch  war  amounted  to 
^30,000  per  annum.  Of  this  circumstance  he  had 
the  magnanimity  to  acquaint  the  parliament;  and  ob- 
serving that  such  profit  was  a  shameful  robbery  of  the 
public,  offered  to  give  up  his  patent,  which  he  had 
obtained  from  Charles  I.,  and  to  accept  in  lieu, 
for  an  agent  he  had  bred  up  to  the  business,  a  salary 
of  o£200  a  year.  The  parliament  readily  assented 
to  the  proposal ;  and  as  a  reward  for  his  public  virtue, 
settled  on  Sur  Henry  an  annuity  of  ^1,200. — 
How  many  are  there  to  whom,  in  these  critical  and 
trying  times,  we  might  well  say,  "  Go  ye  and  do 
likewise  ?" 


JOHN  KNOX. 

On  one  of  those  occasions  when  that  intrepid 
reformer,  John  Knox,  took  the  liberty  of  lecturing 
Queen  Mary  from  the  pulpit,  her  majesty  indignantly 


36  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

exclaimed,  What  have  ye  to  do  with  ray  marriage  ? 
Or  what  are  you  in  this  commonwealth?"  "A 
subject  bom  within  the  same,  madam,"  replied  the 
reformer,  piqued  by  the  last  question,  and  the  con- 
temptuous tone  in  which  it  was  proposed.  **  And 
albeit  I  be  neither  earl,  lord,  nor  baron  in  it,  ^^et  has 
God  made  me  (how  abject  that  ever  I  be  in  your  eyes) 
a  profitable  member  within  the  same.  Yea,  madam, 
to  me  it  appertains  no  less  to  forewarn  of  such  things 
as  may  hurt  it,  if  I  foresee  them,  than  it  doth  to  any 
of  the  nobility  ;  for  both  my  vocation  and  conscience 
require  plainness  of  me.  And  therefore,  madam,  to 
yourself  I  say  that  w^hich  I  speak  in  public  place  : 
whensoever  the  nobility  of  this  realm  shall  consent 
that  ye  be  subject  to  an  unfaithful  husband,  they  do 
as  much  as  in  them  iieth  to  renounce  Christ,  to  banish 
his  truth  from  them,  to  betray  the  freedom  of  this 
realm,  and  perchance  it  shall  in  the  end  do  small 
comfort  to  yourself." 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  ORDER  OF  CHRISTIAN 
CHARITY. 

Henry  III.  of  France  passing  near  the  castle  of 
Chamont,  stopped  and  dined  there.  In  the  court 
yard  and  gardens  he  was  surprised  to  see  several  men 
who  wanted  either  a  leg  or  an  arm.  "  Sire,"  said  the 
hosty  \?illiara  Pot,  a  knight  of  Rhodes,  **  a  merchant 
who  thought  himself  under  great  obligations  to  my 
father,  died  three  years  ago ;  having  none  but  dis- 
tant relations,  he  left  me  by  his  will,  600,000  livres; 
I  have  appropriated  this  fund,  and  the  interest  of  this 
sum,  toi  the  nourishment  and  support  of  fifteen  soldiers 


PATRIOTISM.  37 

born  on  my  estate,  and  whom  their  wounds  have  dis- 
abled from  serving  your  majesty.''  This  foundation 
of  the  Knight  of  Rhodes,  gave  Henry  III.  the  idea  of 
an  order  of  christian  charity  for  poor  officersand  soldiers 
maimed  in  war.  The  troubles  which  harassed  the 
kingdom,  prevented  this  establishment  from  being 
supported  ;  and  it  sunk  again  after  the  death  of  Henry 
the  Fourth,  who  had  resumed  the  design  in  1605. 
The  creation  of  the  palace  of  Mars  with  magnificence, 
and  on  a  solid  foundation,  was  reserved  for  Louis  the 
Fourteenth. 


SOMETHING  BETTER  THAN  POWER. 

The  Duke  of  Wirtemberg  dining  in  company 
with  some  sovereign  princes  and  petty  German  po- 
tentates, the  conversation  turned  upon  their  differ- 
ent forces  and  powers.  After  hearing  all  their  pre- 
tensions, the  duke  said,  "  I  do  not  envy  any  one  of 
you  that  power  which  God  has  given  you,  but  there 
is  one  thing  of  which  1  can  boast,  which  is,  that  in 
my  little  state,  I  can  walk  at  all  hours  alone,  and  in 
security.  I  ramble  among  the  woods,  I  lie  down  to 
sleep  under  some  trees  unconcerned,  for  I  fear  neither 
the  sword  of  a  robber  nor  of  an  inj  ured  subject.  Which 
of  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe  can  say  the  same  ?" 

LIBERTY  OF  CONSCIENCE. 
James  11.  in  his  Auto-Biography,  relates,  that  "  it 
having  been  proposed  and  solicited  by  the  Lord 
Roberts,^  Lord  Ashley  Cooper,  and  others,  that  by 
the  king's  declaration,  a  toleration  should  be  granted 

E 


38  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

to  tender  coivscieaces,  in  pursuance  of,  and  grounded 
on,  the  declaration  at  Breda  ;  it  was  resolved  by  bis 
majesty,  in  a  private  council  held  by  hira  in  the 
chancellor's  (Lord  Clarendon's)  lodgings  at  Worcester 
House,  that  a  declaration  to  that  purpose  should  be 
brought  into  the  House  of  Lords,  the  Duke  of  York 
(afterwards  James  II.)  being  also  very  much  for 
it.  But  when  that  business  afterwards  came  to 
be  debated  before  the  Lords,  the  chancellor  spoke 
violently  against  it ;  and  being  seconded  by  the  bishops 
and  others  of  the  zealous  Church  of  England  men,  it 
was  laid  aside,  which  did  not  a  little  cool  the  king's 
warm  heart  towards  the  chancellor."  What  an  in- 
structive lesson  I  Had  that  declaration  of  liberty  of 
conscience  which  Charles  II.  and  his  brother  so 
earnestly  wished  for,  been  adopted,  it  would  have 
been  the  commencement  of  a  reform^  which  might 
have  saved  Clarendon  from  banishment,  and  the  house 
of  his  royal  master  from  downfall.  The  history  of 
England  might  not  then  have  been  illustrated  by  a 
glorious,  because  necessary,  revolution. 

SOBIESKL 

At  the  time  that  the  treasury  of  Poland  was  ex- 
hausted, the  city  of  Warsaw  drained  of  its  last 
ducat,  the  provinces  laid  waste,  and  every  means  of 
raising  a  supply  seemed  impracticable,  the  council, 
hopeless  of  devising  any  expedient  for  even  a  tempo- 
rary succour,  met  in  his  majesty's  cabinet,  to  consult 
about  obtaining  resources.  The  debate  was  as  de- 
sponding as  their  situation,  until  Thaddcus  Sobieski, 
who  had  hitherto  been  a  silent  observer,  rose  fronar 


PATRIOTISM.  33 
his  seat.  He  advanced  tovards  Suui.L.i,  and 
taking  from  his  neck,  and  otl.cr  parts  of  his  per- 
son, those  magnificent  jewels  which  it  was  custom- 
^ry  to  wear  in  the  presence  of  the  king,  he  knelt 
down,  and  laying  them  at  the  feet  of  his  majesty 
said,  ,n  a  suppressed  voice,  •■  These  are  trifles,  hVi 
such  as  they  are,  and  all  of  the  like  kind  which  I 
possess,  I  beseech  yoar  majesty  to  appropriate  to  U.e 
public  service. 

"Jfoble  young  man  !"  cried  tlie  king,  raising  hiin 
from  the  ground,  "you  have  indeed  taught  me  a 
lesson ;  I  accept  these  jewels  with  gratitude.  Here  " 
said  he  turning  to  the  treasurer,  "  put  them  into  the 
national  fund,  and  let  them  be  followed  by  my  own 
.v.th  my_ plate,  which,  I  desire,  may  be  inUanlJy  sen^ 
to  the  mint.  One  half  of  it  the  army  shall  have,  the 
other  we  must  expend  in  giving  some  little  support  to 
the  surviving  families  of  U.e  brave  men  who  have 
tallen  in  our  defence." 

The  palatine  readily  united  with  his  grandjon  ki 
the  surrender  of  all  their  personal  property,  for 'the 
benefit  of  their  country;  and,  according  to  their 
example,  the  treasury  was  soon  filled  with  gratuities 
from  the  nobles,  which  enabled  the  army  To  march 
out,  newly  equipped,  and  in  high  spirits. 


SINCERITY. 
A  Corsican  gentleman  who  had  been  taken  nri- 
soner  by  the  Genoese,  was  thrown  into  a  dark  dun- 
geon,  where  he  was  chained  to  the  gronnd.  While 
he  was  m  this  dismal  situation,  the  Genoese  sent  a 


40  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

mess^ige  to  him,  that  if  he  would  accept  of  a  com- 
mission in  their  service,  he  might  have  it  No,*' 
said  he, "  were  I  to  accept  your  offer,  it  would  be 
with  a  determined  purpose  to  take  the  first  opportunity 
of  returning  to  the  service  of  my  country.  But  I 
would  not  have  my  countrymen  even  suspect  that  1 
could  be  one  moment  unfaithful.'* 

ALOYS  REDING. 
When  the  French  armies  entered  Switzerland,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  revolution,  Aloys  Reding 
resumed  the  sword  in  favour  of  his  country,  and  per- 
formed many  splendid  actions.  But  the  armies  of 
his  enemies  were  too  numerous,  and  treachery  and 
cowardice  thinned  his  own  ranks.  At  length  the  time 
arrived  which  was  to  decide  the  issue  of  the  contest. 
Certain  death  appeared  to  await  the  whole  band  of 
heroic  Swiss,  On  the  sublime  heights  of  Morgarten, 
Reding  appeared  at  the  head  of  his  troops.  Mor- 
garten had  been  a  theatre  for  the  performance  of 
great  actions  ;  and  calling  to  mind  the  heroic  achieve- 
ments of  ancient  times,  the  brave  general  thus  ad- 
dressed his  soldiers.  "  Comrades  and  fellow  citizens  ! 
the  decisive  moment  is  arrived.  Surrounded  by 
enemies,  and  deserted  by  our  friends,  it  only  remains 
to  know  if  we  will  courageously  imitate  the  example 
formerly  set  by  our  ancestors  among  these  magni- 
ficent mountains  ;  indeed  upon  the  spot  on  which  we 
now  stand.  An  almost  instant  death  awaits  us.  If 
any  one  fear,  let  him  retire;  we  will  not  reproach 
him  ;  but  let  us  not  impose  upon  each  other  at  this 
solemn  hour.    I  would  rather  have  a  hundred  men 


PATRIOTISM.  41 
firm  and  steadfast  to  their  duty,  than  a  iarge  army 
which,  by  flight,  might  oceasion  confusion  ;  or  by 
precipitous  retreat,  immolate  the  brave  men  who 
would  stUl  defend  themselves.  As  to  myself,  I  pro- 
mise not  to  abandon  you,  even  in  the  grea*test  danger. 
Death  and  no  retreat !  If  you  participate  in  my  re^so- 
lution,  let  two  men  come  out  of  your  ranks,  and 
swear  to  me,  in  your  name,  that  you  will  be  faithful 
to  your  promises." 

When  the  chieftain  had  finished  his  address,  his 
soldiers,  who  had  been  leaning  on  their  arms,  and 
listening  in  reverential  silence,  instantly  hailed  its 
conclusion  with  loud  shouts  of  "  we"  will  never 
desert  youj"  "  we  will  never  abandon  you;''  we 
will  share  your  fate,  whatever  it  may  be."    Two  men 
then  moved  out  of  each  rank,  as  Reding  had  desired; 
and  giving  their  hands  to  their  chief,  confirmed  the 
oath  their  comrades  had  taken.    This  treaty  of  alli- 
ance between  the  chief  and  his  soldiers,  was  sworn 
in  open  day,  and  in  one  of  the  sublimest  scenes 
in  all  Switzerland  3  a  treaty  which,  as  the  historian 
Zochockle   observes,   bears   marks  of  patriarchal 
manners  worthy  the  simplicity  of  the  golden  age. 
These  brave  men  fought  and  bied  with  the  resolution 
of  heroes,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  patriots ;  but  fate 
having  for  a  time  decreed  the  subjugation  of  their 
country,  they  fought  therefore  in  vain. 

KEYS  OF  PARIS.  ^ 

When  Louis  the  Sixteenth,  after  his  momentary 
reconciliation  to  his  people,  went  to  the  Hotel  de 
Viile  to  receive  the  keys  of  Paris,       Bailly,  the 


42 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


new  maj/or,  addressed  his  majesty  in  a  speech  which 
coramenced  with  the  following  piquant  observation  : 
*'  Sire,  I  present  your  majesty  with  the  keys  of  the 
good  city  of  Paris.  They  are  the  same  which  were 
presented  to  Henry  IV.  He  reconquered  his  people, 
now  it  is  the  people  who  have  reconquered  their  king." 

BODY  GUARDS. 

On  the  15th  of  July,  1789,  when  the  unfor- 
tunate Louis  XVI.  paid  an  unexpected  visit  to  the 
states  general  of  France,  the  clergy,  nobility,  and 
commons,  taking  hold  of  each  other's  hands,  formed 
a  semicircle  around  his  majesty,  and  conducted  him 
to  the  palace,  crying  out,  "JZ  ne  luifaut  pas  d'autres 
gardes  des  corps*" 

EMPEROR  OF  RUSSIA. 

In  the  memorable  war  against  Russia  in  1812,  the 
news  of  the  entrance  of  the  French  into  Smolensko, 
arrived  during  the  conferences  of  the  Prince  of 
Sweden  with  the  Emperor  of  Russia ;  and  it  was 
there  that  Alexander  contracted  the  engagement  with 
himself  and  the  Prince  Royal,  his  ally,  never  to  sign 
a  treaty  of  peace.  "  Should  Petersburg  be  taken," 
said  he,  "  I  will  retire  into  Siberia.  I  will  there 
resume  our  ancient  customs ;  and  like  our  long-bearded 
ancestors,  we  will  return  anew  to  conquer  the  empirCi" 
"  This  resolution  will  liberate  Europe,'*  exclaimed 
the  Prhice  Royal  j  and  his  prediction  was  accom- 
plished. 


PATRIOTISM. 


43 


SELF  DEVOTION. 
In  the  year  1710,  the  Danish  fleet,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Admiral  GyJdenlseve,  was  sent  to  the 
i3altic  m  pursuit  of  a  Swedish  fleet ;  but  in  conse- 
quence of  the  sudden  sickness  of  his  crew,  he  found 
It  necessary  to  sail  for  Kioege  Bay,  and  secure  a 
defensive  position.  The  Swedish  admiral  having 
received  intelligence  of  the  calamity,  hastened  to 
take  advantage  of  it.  He  appeared  off  the  bay,  and 
engaged,  but  did  not  conquer,  the  fleet. 

During  the  engagement,  one  of  the  Danish  line  of 
battle  ships,  the  Danbrog,  took  Are,  nor  could  all 
their  efforts  to  extinguish  the  flames  avail.  Captain 
Hvitfeldt  saw  one  ray  of  hope  which,  at  the  moment 
promised  safety  to  liimseif  and  his  crew;  it  was  io 
cut  his  cables  and  drive  ashore  ;  there  was,  however 
danger  to  be  apprehended  if  the  wind  should  change' 
that  the  vessel  might  drive  among  the  Danish  fleet' 
and  thus  endanger  both  the  shipping  and  the  town! 
Ut  the  two  evils,  Hvitfeldt  chose  the  least.  He  eave 
positive  orders  that  the  cables  should  not  be  cut :  and 
t^en  sent  his  oflicers  among  the  crew,  to  ask  them  if 
It  would  not  be  more  glorious  to  pursue  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  enemy  while  the  Danbrog  existed,  than 
by  an  attempt  merely  to  save  themselves,  endanger 
the  lives  of  thousands  of  their  countrymen  ? 

The  sailors  answered  the  noble  proposal  of  their 
ga.lant  captain  by  the  most  cordial  cheers.  Hvitfeldt 
h^r^Tl  the  admiral,  to  inform 

him  of  their  determination,  and  to  bid  their  country 
iarewell.    In  a  few  minutes  the  flames  reached  the 


44  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

magazine,  explosion  followed,  and  the  whole  cres¥ 
perished  in  one  of  the  most  patriotic  acts  of  self 
devotion  ever  recorded. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  FREDERIKSHALD. 

The  town  of  Frederikshald  was  attacked  by 
Charles  the  Twelfth,  during  his  invasion  of  A'^orway 
in  1716,  and  made  a  most  vigorous  resistance.  The 
citizens  defended  the  town  from  street  to  street,  and 
house  to  house  ;  but  the  superiority  of  the  Swedes 
prevailed,  and  the  town  was  taken. 

Although  Charles  was  thus  become  master  of  the 
town,  yet  the  inhabitants  refused  to  acknowledge  his 
authority.  Some  of  them  retired  to  the  fort,  and 
others  went  on  board  the  praam  they  had  constructed, 
or  hid  themselves  in  the  mountains.  From  all 
quarters  a  constant  fire  was  kept  upon  the  town, 
especially  from  the  fort,  to  expel  the  enemy.  A  few 
hours  after  the  surrender  of  the  town,  Charles  sent  a 
trumpeter  to  the  fort,  to  solicit  a  truce,  but  he  was 
sent  back  with  the  following  answer :  *'The  King  oif 
Sweden  being  an  uninvited  guest,  it  is  our  duty 
to  send  him  whence  he  came."  The  fidelity  with 
which  they  kept  their  promise,  was  soon  evident  to 
Charles ;  for  when  they  found  it  impossible  to  dislodge 
the  enemy  by  their  cannon,  they  desperately  set  fire 
to  the  town.  The  citizens  eagerly  hastened  to  fire 
their  own  houses,  while  the  enemy  in  vain  sought  to 
extinguish  the  increasing  flames.  The  scene  of  horror 
was  considerably  augmented  by  the  fire  of  the  artil- 
lery from  the  fort  and  the  praam. 

Charles,  whom  nature  had  endowed  with  an  invin- 


PATIIIOTISM.  45 
cible  spirit,  strengthened  by  a  familiarity  with  danger, 
stood  appalled  at  this  extraordinary  spectacle,  and 
left  the  town  that  v^ery  day. 

EUSTACE  ST.  PIERKE. 
When  Edward  the  Third,  after  the  battle  of  Cressy, 
laid  siege  to  Calais,  the  citizens  under  the  command 
of  Count  Vienne,  the  governor,  made  an  admirable 
defence.    Day  after  day  the  English  effected  many 
a  breach,  which  they  expected  to  storm  by  break  of 
day ;  but  when  morning  appeared,  they  beheld  new 
ramparts  raised  nightly,  erected  out  of  the  ruins  which 
the  previous  day  had  made.    France  had  now  put 
her  sickle  into  her  second  harvest,  since  Edward,  with 
his  victorious  army,  sat  down  before  the  town.  The 
eyes  of  all  Europe  were  intent  on  the  issue.  The 
English  made  their  approaches  and  attacks  without 
remission,  but  the  citizens  were  as  obstinate  in  re- 
pelling all  their  efforts.    At  length  famine  did  more 
for  Edward  than  arms.    After  the  citizens  had  de- 
voured the  lean  carcasses  of  their  half-starved  catde, 
they  tore  up  old  foundations  and  rubbish,  in  search 
of  vermin ;  they  fed  on  boiled  leather  and  the  weeds 
I    of  exhausted  gardens,  and  a  morsel  of  damaged  corn 
was  accounted  matter  of  luxury.    In  this  extremity 
they  resolved  to  attempt  the  enemy's  camp.  They 
boldly  sallied  forth  3  the  English  joined  battle,  and 
after  a  long  and  desperate  engagement,  Count  Vienne 
was  taken  prisoner ;  and  the  citizens  who  survived 
the  slaughter  retired  within  their  gates. 

The  command  now  devolved  on  Eustace  St.  Pierre, 
the  mayor  of  the  town,  a  man  of  humble  birth,  but 


46 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


of  the  most  exalted  virtue.  Eustace  soon  found  liim- 
self  under  the  necessity  of  capitulating,  and  offered 
to  deliver  the  city  up  to  Edward,  with  all  the  wealth 
and  possessions  of  the  citizens,  provided  they  might 
be  permitted  to  depart  with  life  and  liberty-.  As 
Edward  had  long  expected  to  ascend  the  throne  of 
France,  he  was  exasperated  against  these  people, 
whose  sole  valour  had  so  long  defeated  his  warmest 
hopes;  he,  therefore,  determined  to  take  an  exem- 
plary revenge.  He  answered  by  Sir  Walter  Mauny, 
that  they  all  deserved  capital  punishment,  as  obstinate 
traitors  to  him,  their  true  and  lawful  sovereign ; 
that,  however,  in  his  wonted  clemency,  he  consented 
to  pardon  the  bulk  of  the  plebeians,  provided  they 
would  deliver  up  to  him  six  of  their  principal  citizens, 
with  halters  about  their  necks,  as  victims  of  due 
atonement  for  that  spirit  of  rebellion  with  wliich  they 
had  inflamed  the  common  people.  All  the  remains 
of  this  desolate  city  were  convened  in  the  great 
square;  and  like  men  arraigned  at  a  tribunal  from 
whence  there  was  no  appeal,  expected,  with  throbbing 
hearts,  the  sentence  of  their  conqueror.  When  Sir 
Walter  had  declared  his  message,  consternation  and 
dismay  were  impressed  on  every  face  ;  each  looked 
upon  death  as  his  own  inevitable  lot;  for  how  should 
they  desire  to  be  saved  at  the  price  proposed  ? 
Whom  had  they  to  deliver  up,  save  parents,  brothers, 
kindred,  or  valiant  neighbours,  who  had  so  often 
exposed  their  lives  in  their  defence  ?  To  a  long  and 
dead  silence,  deep  sighs  and  groans  succeeded  ;  till 
Eustace  St.  Pierre,  ascending  a  little  eminence,  thus 
addressed  the  assembly  :  **  My  friends  and  fellow 
citizens,  you  see  the  condition  to  which  we  are  re- 
duced ;  we  must  either  submit  to  the  terms  of  our 


PATRIOTISM.  47 

t1'nHi/°?  t"'"'"""  <:<"'q«eror,  or  yield  up  our 
tender  mfants,  our  wives,  a„d  chaste  dauohters  to 
the  ferocty  of  the  soldiery.  We  well  kno.  ^hat 
the  tyrant  intends  by  his  specious  offers  of  mercy. 
It  does  not  satiate  his  vengeance  to  make  us  merefy 
miserabie,  he  would  make  us  criminal;  he  would 
n^ake  us  contemptible;  he  will  grant  us  life  on  no 
condition,  save  that  of  being  unworthy  of  it.  Look 

persl-Th'o  K '  ^""^         -  t  e 

person,  whom  you  wish  to  deliver  up  as  the  victims 

of  your  own  safety.    Which  of  these  would  vou 

appomt  ,0  the  rack,  the  axe,  or  the  halter?  Is  thV 

fought  fo   you,  who  has  not  bled  for  you  ?  Who 
ufferf   f  t'^-  f        inveterate  si^e,  harnoJ 

uian  death,  that  you  and  yours  might  survive  to  davs 
o   peace  and  prosperity  ./js  it  you'r  prese  ^  rs!  £ 
whom  you  would  destine  to  destruction  ?    Yo,  S 
not  you  cannot  do  it.    Justice,  honour,  humanky 
make  such  a  treason  impossible.    Where  then  is  oS 
resource    Is  there  any  expedient  left,  where  y  we 
may  avoid  guilt  and  infamy  on  one  hand,  or  the  d«o! 
Ration  and  horrors  of  a  sacked  city  o^  the  otto ' 
nereis,  my  friends,  there  is  one  expedient  left  a 
gracious,  an  excellent,  a  god-like  expedient!  Is  h'ere 
any  here  to  whom  virtue  is  dearer  than  life  ?  let  him 
offer  himself  an  oblation  for  the  safety  of  his  people^ 

Powe?  who  ff  °V  "r^-^  ^PP""''-"  £ 

m,??  T^/'       ^  '"'"ersal  silence  ensued.  Each 
man  looked  around  for  the  example  of  that  virtue 


48  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

raagnaniraity  in  others,  which  all  wished  to  approve 
in  theraselves,  though  they  wanted  the  resolution. 
At  length  St.  Pierre  resumed  : 

"  It  had  been  base  in  me,  my  fellow-citizens,  to 
promote  any  matter  of  danger  to  others,  which  I 
myself  had  not  been  willing  to  undergo  in  my  own 
person.    But  I  held  it  ungenerous  to  deprive  any 
man  of  that  preference  and  estimation,  which  might 
attend  a  first  offer  on  so  signal  an  occasion ;  for  1 
doubt  not  but  there  are  many  here  as  ready,  nay,  more 
zealous  for  this  martyrdom,  than  I  can  be,  however 
modesty  and  the  fear  of  imputed  ostentation  may 
withhold  them  from  being  foremost  in  exhibiting  their 
merits.    Indeed,  the  station  to  which  the  captivity  of 
Count  Vienne  has  unhappily  raised  me,  imports  a  right 
to  be  the  first  in  giving  my  life  for  your  sakes.  I 
give  it  freely,  I  give  it  cheerfully  :  who  comes  next? 
"  Your  son !"  exclaimed  a  youth,  not  yet  come  to 
maturity.    "  Ah,  my  child  !"  cried  St.  Pierre  ;  "  I 
am  then  twice  sacrificed.    But  no,  I  have  rather 
begotten  thee  a  second  time.    Thy  years  are  few,  but 
full,  my  son ;  the  victim  of  virtue  has  reached  the 
utmost  purpose  and  goal  of  mortality.    Who  next, 
ray  friends  ?    This  is  the  hour  of  heroes."    "  Your 
kinsman!"  cried  John  de  Aire.    "  Your  kinsman  1" 
cried  James  Wissant."     Your  kinsman !"  cried  Peter 
Wissant."       Ah  1"  exclaimed  Sir  Walter  Mauny, 
bursting  into  tears,  "  why  was  I  not  a  citizen  of 
Calais  ?"  .  ^ , 

The  sixth  victim  was  still  wanting,  but  was  quickly 
supplied  by  lot,  from  numbers  who  were  now  emu- 
lous of  so  ennobling  an  example. 

The  keys  of  the  city  were  then  delivered  to  Sir 


PATRIOTISM.  49 
Walter.  He  then  took  the  six  prisoners  into  his 
custody.  He  ordered  the  gates  to  be  opened,  and 
gave  charge  to  his  attendants  to  conduct  the  remain- 
ing citizens,  with  their  families,  through  the  camn  of 
the  English.  ^ 

Before  they  departed,  however,  they  desired  per- 
mission to  take  their  last  adieu  of  their  deliverers. 
What  a  parting  !  what  a  scene  !  They  crowded  with 
their  wives  and  children  about  St.  Pierre  and  his 
fellow-prisoners.  They  embraced,  they  clung  around, 
they  fell  prostrate  before  them.  They  groaned  ;  they 
wept  aloud  j  and  the  joint  clamour  of  their  mourning 
passed  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  was  heard  through- 
out the  camp. 

At  length,  St.  Pierre  and  his  fellow  victims  ap« 
peared  under  the  conduct  of  Sir  Walter  and  his 
guard.  All  the  tents  of  the  English  were  instantly 
emptied.  The  soldiers  poured  from  all  parts,  and 
arranged  themselves  on  each  side  to  behold,  to  con- 
template, to  admire  this  little  band  of  patriots  as 
they  passed.  They  murmured  their  applause  of 
that  virtue  which  they  could  not  but  revere,  even  in 
enemies;  and  they  regarded  those  ropes  which  they 
had  voluntarily  assumed  about  their  necks,  as  ensigns 
greater  in  dignity  than  that  of  the  British  Garter. 

To  the  eternal  honour  of  Philippa,  the  Queen  of 
Edward,  through  her  intercession,  the  lives  of  these 
virtuous  citizens  were  spared.  [See  Anecdotes  of 
Humanity.] 


50 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


FAITHFUL  PASTOR. 

The  town  of  Njekoebing,  doomed  to  the  flames 
hy  Charles  Gustavus,  King  of  Sweden,  in  consequence 
of  the  inhabitants  being  unable  to  pay  the  heavy 
contributions  levied  upon  them,  was  preserved  by 
the  bold  and  patriotic  conduct  of  the  rector,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Jessen. 

Sunday  was  the  day  appointed  by  the  enemy  for 
carrying  into  execntion  their  dreadful  purpose ;  and  the 
impending  danger  naturally  afforded  a  most  affecting 
subject  for  the  clergyman's  discourse.  He  expatiated 
on  the  miserable  fate  to  which  he  and  his  fellow 
citizens  were  doomed  ;  and  pointed  out  tlie  only 
source  of  consolation  in  religion.  Perceiving  some 
Swedes  of  rank  in  the  lower  part  of  the  church,  he 
raised  his  voice,  and  eloquently  animadverted  on. 
cruelty  and  oppression. 

The  worthy  minister  had  scarcely  entered  his  house 
after  the  service  of  the  morning,  when  he  received  a 
message  from  Charles  Gustavus,  who  had  been  at 
church,  signifying  his  Swedish  majesty's  intention  of 
dining  with  hira.  The  clergyman  still  retaining 
sparks  of  that  %varmth  with  which  he  had  pleaded 
the  cause  of  his  countrymen,  instantly  returned  the 
following  answer :  "  Sire,  my  dinner  consists  in 
peas-soup  and  pork  ;  it  is  all  your  majesty's  soldiers 
have  left  me ;  and  such  fare  being  too  mean  for  a 
king,  I  most  humbly  beg  to  decline  the  honour  your 
majesty  most  graciously  intended  me." 

The  king,  however,  would  not  be  refused,  aiid  sent 
another  messenger,  announcing  his  approach*  At 


PATRIOTISM.  51 
table,  Mr.  lessen  turned  the  conversation  on  the  dis- 
tressed inhabitants,  and  exerted  all  his  eloquence  to 
move  the  Swedish  monarch  in  their  behalf,  until,  at 
last,  the  king  assured  him  that  he  would  spare  the 
town.  Orders  were  issued  accordingly  ;  and  the  more 
effectually  to  prevent  the  inhabitants  from  sustaining 
mjury,  Charles  Gustavus  ordered  a  guard  for  their 
protection. 

This  act  of  the  patriotic  Jessen  is  recorded  by  a 
portrait  placed  in  the  town-hall  at  Nyekoebing.  It 
represents  a  venerable  man,  whose  expressive  features 
give  assurance  of  the  eloquent  and  persevering  zeal 
with  which  he  succeeded  in  personally  assuaging 
the  anger  of  a  warlike  king,  and  averting  a  general 
calamity. 


SIEGE  OF  COPENHAGEN. 

When  Charles  Gustavus  laid  siege  a  second  time 
to  Copenhagen,  the  city  was  very  ill  prepared  for  de- 
fence. The  fortifications  were  in  many  places  decayed, 
there  was  no  supply  of  provisions,  and  the  garrison 
scarcely  amounted  to  a  thousand  men.  The  sudden 
attack  of  the  Swedes  prevented  any  reinforcement 
reaching  the  city,  either  by  sea  or  land.  Frederick 
the  Third  sued  for  peace  ;  but  the  King  of  Sweden 
replied,  "  I  will  explain  the  cause  of  the  war  when 
I  have  conquered  Denmark."  A  general  terror  now 
prevailed  in  the  Danish  court  3  some  members  of 
which  entreated  the  king  to  consult  his  own  safety, 
by  escaping  to  Norway  or  Holland.  No,'' said  he,' 
I  am  resolved  to  perish  or  conquer  in  my  onw  nest. 
F  2 


52  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

I  shall  cease  to  value  life,  when  my  kingdom  is  tram- 
pled upon  by  my  enemies." 

The  king  then  ordered  the  drums  to  beat  to  arras 
throughout  the  city,  and  issued  the  following  procla- 
mation. "  His  majesty  confiding  in  the  unanimity  and 
valour  of  all  true  Danes  and  Norwegians,  and  firmly 
persuaded  that  nothing  will  be  left  undone  by  them 
which  can  in  any  degree  tend  to  the  delivery  of  their 
country,  declares  to  all  such  persons  as  may  feel  re- 
luctant to  partake  the  dangers  of  the  contest,  that  they 
are  free  to  leave  the  city,  while  it  is  yet  time,  and 
not  to  bean  incumbrance  to  those  who  are  determined 
to  stand  or  fall  with  our  royal  self." 

Such  a  declaration  from  the  king,  could  not  fail 
to  inspire  all  classes  with  hope  and  confidence  ;  and 
the  brave  Frederick  soon  found  in  every  subject  a 
hero  and  a  patriot.  The  city,  which  a  few  hours 
before  was  without  troops,  suddenly  displayed  as 
many  warriors  as  could  be  furnished  with  arms.  These 
were  divided  into  four  classes,  the  nobility,  the 
clergy,  the  citizens,  and  the  soldiery  Their  hearts 
beat  with  patriotic  fire,  and  every  individual  longed 
for  an  opportunity  of  hurling  death  and  destruction 
on  the  enemy. 

The  first  object  was  to  restore  order  on  the  ramparts ; 
all  lent  a  willing  hand  to  this  essential  duty;  even 
women  rivalled  each  other  in  supplying  materials.  The 
fortifications  being  thus  repaired,  the  suburbs  were 
set  on  fire  in  the  presence  of  the  Swedish  army. 

Charles  opened  his  trenches,  while  his  fleet  bom- 
barded the  city  ;  but  all  in  vain.  When  any  part  of 
the  town  was  on  fire,  the  citizens  hastened  to  extinguish 
it ;  and  whenever  the  Swedes  shewed  an  intention  of 


PATRIOTISM.  53 
scaling  the  ramparts,  they  met  with  a  most  vigorous 
resistance  ;  the  king  sharing  every  danger  with  his 
subjects,  and  by  his  presence  and  example  encourag- 
ing them  to  persevere.    Thus  the  first  month  of  the 
siege  passed  amidst  a  succession  of  calamities,  fears, 
and  expectations  ;  but  the  fall  of  Cronborg,  and  the 
delay  of  the  Dutch  fleet,  which  had  been  long  ex- 
pected, threw  a  momentary  gloom  over  the  city, 
though  an  unconquerable  spirit  still  animated  every 
soul.    Opulent  individuals  applied  their  wealth  to  the 
relief  of  the  poor ;  while  the  king  sold  many  of  his 
valuables,  and  pledged  other  parts  of  his  property,  to 
obtain  money,  which  he  distributed  among  the  neces- 
sitous. 

When  the  siege  had  continued  three  months,  during 
which  no  impression  wiiatever  was  made  on  the 
city,  which  proudly  mocked  the  efForts,  and  defied 
the  rage  of  the  Swedish  monarch,  the  Dutch  fleet 
entered  the  Sound  ;  and  after  fighting  its  way  into 
port,  brought  a  vast  supply  of  men  and  provisions  to 
the  besieged  city. 

The  sea  was  soon  after  frozen  over,  and  every  pre- 
paration was  made  by  the  Swedes  for  storming  the 
city,  which  they  perpetually  harassed.  The  guards 
in  the  city  were  doubled  ;  persons  were  employed 
in  breaking  the  ice,  and  every  individual  was  on  the 
alert  by  day  and  by  night,  ready  for  the  impending 
moment.  The  men  went  to  work  as  soon  as  they 
were  relieved  from  guard,  and  mounted  guard  when 
they  left  ofi'  work. 

At  length  the   important   night   arrived.  The 
Swedes  commenced  the  assault  with  the  utmost  fury, 
^nd  continued  to  storm  the  town  the  whole  night.  A 
F  3 


54  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

few  succeeded  in  scaling  the  ramparts  ;  but  ihey  had 
to  contend  with  men  resolved  to  bury  themselves  in 
the  ruins  of  their  city,  rather  than  be  subdued.  The 
Swedes,  after  sustaining  a  great  loss  of  men,  and  some 
of  their  best  officers,  were  compelled  to  retreat,  nor 
did  they  ever  attempt  to  renew  the  attack. 

A  short  time  before  the  storming  took  place,  the 
English  ambassador  advised  Frederick  to  sue  for  peace 
on  any  terms ;  but  the  king  replied,  in  a  dignified 
tone,  "  I  will  beg  peace  from  none ;  I  am  accus- 
tomed to  look  danger  in  the  face.  Charles  may 
come  when  he  pleases,  but  he  may  rest  assured  he 
will  meet  with  men  who  know  how  to  give  him  a 
proper  reception."  He  then  mounted  his  horse,  and 
rode  about  encouraging  his  brethren  in  arms,  assuring 
them  that  he  would  watch  and  fight  for  them  to  the 
last.  He  ke;;.^  his  word,  for  he  continued  on  horse- 
back during  the  storming,  and  was  always  where 
the  assault  was  the  fiercest. 

SILESIAN  GIRL. 

During  the  seven  years'  war,  the  exertions  of  the 
Prussians  at  some  critical  periods  to  support  the 
sinking  fortunes  of  their  enterprising  monarch,  were 
of  a  nature  truly  astonishing  ;  but  they  were  far 
outdone  by  the  public  sacrifices  which  were  volun- 
tarily made  by  individuals  to  repel  the  invasion  of 
the  French  in  1813.  An  anecdote  of  a  Silesian  girl 
is  recorded,  which  serves  in  a  striking  manner  to 
shew  the  general  feeling  which  pervaded  the  country. 
Whilst  her  neighbours  and  family  were  contributing 
in  diiferent  ways  to  the  expences  of  the  war,  she  was 


PATRIOTISM.  55 

fot  sorae  time  in  the  greatest  distress  at  her  inability 
to  manifest  her  patriotism,  as  she  possessed  nothing 
\fh\ch  she  could  dispose  of  for  that  purpose.  At 
length  the  idea  struck  her  that  her  hair,  which  was 
of  great  beauty,  and  the  pride  of  her  parents,  might 
be  of  sorae  value  ;  and  she  accordingly  set  off  one 
morning  privately  for  Breslau,  and  disposed  of  her 
beautiful  tresses  for  a  couple  of  dollars.  The  hair- 
dresser, however,  with  whom  she  had  negociated  the 
bargain,  being  touched  with  the  girl's  conduct, reserved 
his  purchase  for  the  manufacture  of  bracelets  and 
other  ornaments ;  and,  as  the  story  became  public, 
he  in  the  end  sold  so  many,  that  he  was  enabled  by 
this  fair  maiden's  locks  alone,  to  subscribe  a  hundred 
<^ollars  to  the  exigences  of  the  state. 


HOME. 

The  diet  of  the  Arabian  tribes  in  Persia,  is  more 
frugal  than  that  of  any  other  of  the  inhabitants  of 
that  kingdom.    It  con^sts  chiefly  of  dates.  Some 
years  ago,  a  woman  belonging  to  one  of  the  Arab 
families  setUed  at  Abusbeker,  had  gone  to  England 
with  the  children  of  the  British  resident  at  that  place. 
"When  she  returned,  all  crowded  around  her  to  hear 
the  report  of  the  country  she  had  visited.  She 
described  the  roads,  the  carriages,  the  horses,  the 
wealth  and  splendour  of  the  cities,  and  the  highly 
cultivated  state  of  the  country.    Her  audience  were 
full  of  envy  at  the  condition  of  Englishmen,  and 
were  on  the  point  of  retirmg  with  that  impression, 
when  the  woman  happened  to  add,  that  the  countrv 
she  had  visited  only  wanted  one  thing  to  make  it 


60  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

deliglitful.  "  What  is  that  ?"  was  the  enquiry.  "  It 
has  not  a  date  tree  in  it,'*  said  she.  "  I  never  ceased 
to  look  for  one  all  the  time  I  was  there  ;  but  I  looked 
in  vain."  The  sentiments  of  the  Arabs  v/ho  listened 
to  her,  were  in  an  instant  changed  by  this  information. 
It  was  no  longer  envy,  but  pity,  which  they  felt  for 
men  wJio  were  condemned  to  live  in  a  counliy  where 
there  were  no  date  trees. 

"  Such  is  the  patriot's  boast  where'er  we  roara, 
His  first  best  country  is  at  home.*' 


BRUTUS. 

Though  it  perhaps  can  scarcely  be  said  of  Brutus, 
that  he  was  "  the  noblest  Roman  of  them  all,"  yet 
his  inflexible  regard  to  justice  and  to  liberty  are 
entitled  to  the  highest  admiration ;  and  perhaps  of 
all  the  distinguished  personages  of  antiquity,  he  best 
deserves  to  be  considered  as  the  model  of  a  virtuous 
citizen.  According  to  modern  manners,  when  assas- 
sination under  any  circumstances  is  strongly  and 
justly  reprobated,  the  death  of  Cassar  was  a  crime 
which  no  redeeming  virtues  of  Brutus  could  atone 
for  'j  but  tyrannicide  was  viewed  by  the  Romans  in 
a  very  different  light  from  what  it  appears  at  present ; 
and  it  is  not  by  the  ideas  of  our  own  times,  that  we 
are  to  judge  of  the  heroes  of  antiquity.  It  is  said, 
that  Brutus  was  guilty  of  the  highest  ingratitude  by 
killing  Caesar,  who  had  been  his  benefactor;  but  in 
the  opinion  of  the  ancients,  this  circumstance  only  ren- 
dered his  act  the  more  glorious;  since  by  disregarding 
favours  to  himself,  he  shewed  the  greater  attachmenf 


PATRIOTISM.  57 

to  his  countr3%  How  clearly  has  Shakespeare  drawn 
the  line  between  Brutus'  friendship  for  Caesar,  and 
his  love  for  his  country.  "  If  there  be  any  in  this 
assembly,  any  dear  friend  of  Ceesar's,  to  him  1  say, 
that  Brutus'  love  for  CiEsar  was  no  less  than  his.  If, 
then,  that  friend  demand  why  Brutus  rose  against 
C«sar,  this  is  ray  answer :  Not  that  I  loved  Caesar 
less,  but  that  I  loved  Rome  more." 

The  celebrated  letter  which  Brutus  wrote  to  Cicero, 
on  his  Jiaving  interceded  for  his  pardon  with  Octavius, 
perfectly  marks  his  character,  and  breathes  the  purest 
principles  of  true  patriotism.  "  I  have  read,''  he  says, 
*'  a  part  of  your  letter  which  you  sent  to  Octavius, 
transmitted  to  me  by  Atticus.  Your  zeal  and  con- 
cern for  ray  safety  gave  me  no  new  pleasure  :  for  it 
is  not  only  common,  but  our  daily  news,  to  hear 
something  which  you  have  said  or  done  with  your 
usual  fidelity,  in  the  support  of  my  honour  and 
dignity.  Yet  that  same  part  of  your  letter  affected 
me  with  the  most  sensible  grief  which  my  mind  could 
possibly  receive.  For  you  compliment  him  so  highly 
for  his  services  to  the  republic,  and  in  a  strain  so 
suppliant  and  abject /that — What  shall  I  say? — I 
am  ashamed  of  the  wretched  state  to  which  we  are 
reduced — yet  it  must  be  said, — ^you  recommend  my 
safety  to  him  ;  (to  which,  what  death  is  not  prefer- 
able ?)  and  plainly  shew,  that  our  servitude  is  not  yet 
abolished,  but  our  master  only  changed.  Recollect 
your  words,  and  deny  them,  if  you  dare,  to  be  the 
prayers  of  a  slave  to  his  king.  There  is  one  things, 
you  say,  which  is  required  and  expected  from  him,  that 
he  will  allow  those  citizens  to  live  in  safety,  of  whom  all 
honest  men,  and  the  people  of  Rome,  think  well.  But 


68 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


what,  if  he  will  not  allow  it  ?  Shall  we  be  the  less 
safe  for  that  ?  It  is  better  not  to  be  safe,  than  to 
be  made  safe  by  hira.  For  my  part,  1  can  never  think 
all  the  gods  so  averse  to  the  safety  of  the  Koman 
people,  that  Octavias  must  be  entreated  for  the  life  of 
any  one  citizen ;  I  will  not  say  for  the  deliverers  of  the 
world.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  talk  thus  magnificently  ; 
a^^  it  becomes  me  surely  to  do  so  to  those  who 
^now  not  either  what  to  fear  for  any  one,  or  what  to 
ask  of  any  one.  Can  you,  Cicero,  allow  Octavius 
to  have  this  power,  and  be  still  a  friend  to  hira  ?  Or, 
if  you  have  any  value  for  me,  would  you  wish  to 
see  me  at  Rome,  when  I  must  first  be  recommended 
to  the  boy,  that  he  would  permit  me  to  be  there  ? 
What  reason  have  you  to  thank  him,  if  you  think  it 
necessary  to  beg  of  him  that  he  would  grant  and 
suffer  us  to  live  in  safety  ?  Or  is  it  to  be  reckoned  a 
kindness,  that  he  chooses  to  see  himself,  rather  than 
Antony,  in  the  condition  to  have  such  petitions  ad- 
dressed to  him  ?  One  may  supplicate,  indeed,  the 
successor,  but  never  the  avenger  of  another's  tyranny, 
that  those  who  have  deserved  well  of  the  republic 
may  be  safe.  It  was  this  weakness  and  despair,  not 
more  blameable,  indeed,  in  you  than  in  all,  which  first 
pushed  on  Caesar  to  the  ambition  of  reigning  3  and 
after  his  death,  determined  Antony  to  attempt  to 
seize  his  place ;  and  has  raised  this  boy  so  high,  that 
you  judge  it  necessary  to  address  your  prayers  to 
him,  for  the  preservation  of  men  of  our  rank  ;  and 
that  we  can  be  saved  only  by  the  mercy  of  one, 
scarce  yet  a  man.  What  reason,"  he  continues,  "  had 
we  to  rejoice  at  Cessar's  death,  if  after  it  we  were  still 
to  continue  slaves  ?  Let  other  people  be  as  indolent  as 


PATRIOTISM. 


59 


they  please  ;  but,  as  for  me,  may  the  gods  deprive  me 
sooner  of  every  thing,  than  the  resolution  of  not 
allowing  to  the  heir  of  him  whom  I  killed,  what  I 
did  not  allow  to  the  man  himself ;  nor  would  suffer 
even  in  my  father,  were  he  living,  to  have  more  -power 
than  the  lam  and  the  senate.  How  can  you  imagine 
that  the  rest  of  you  can  ever  be  free  under  him, 
without  whose  leave  there  is  no  place  for  us  in  that 
city?  Or  how  is  it  possible  for  you,  after  all,  to 
obtain  what  you  ask  ?  You  beg,  that  he  would  allow 
us  to  be  safe.  Shall  we  then  receive  safety,  think  you, 
when  we  have  received  life  from  him  ?  But  how  can 
we  receive  it,  if  we  first  part  with  our  honour  and  our 
liberty  ?  Do  you  fancy,  that  to  live  at  Rome  is  to  be 
safe  ?  It  is  the  thing,  and  not  the  place,  which  must 
secure  that  to  me  :  for  I  was  never  safe  while  Caesar 
lived,  till  I  had  resolved  with  myself  upon  that 
attempt :  nor  can  I  in  any  place  live  in  exile,  as  long 
as  I  hate  slavery  and  insults  above  all  other  evils. 
Is  not  this  to  fall  back  again  into  the  same  state  of 
darkness,  when  he  who  has  taken  upon  him  the  name 
of  the  tyrant  (though  in  the  cities  of  Greece,  when 
the  tyrants  are  destroyed,  their  children  also  peiish 
with  them)  must  be  entreated,  that  the  avengrers  of 
ty  ranny  may  be  safe  ?  Can  I  ever  wish  to  see  that 
city,  or  think  it  a  city,  which  has  not  the  power  even 
to  accept  liberty,  when  offered,  and  even  forced  upon 
it ;  but  has  more  dread  of  the  name  of  their  late 
king,  in  the  person  of  a  boy,  than  confidence  in  itself; 
though  it  has  seen  that  very  king  taken  off  in  the 
utmost  height  of  pcv/er,  by  the  virtue  of  a  few  ?  Do 
not  recommend  me,  therefore,  any  more  to  jour 
Caesar  ;  nor  yourself  indeed,  if  you  will  hearken  to 


60  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

me.  You  set  a  very  high  value  on  the  few  years^ 
which  remain  to  you  at  that  age,  if  for  the  sake  of 
them  you  can  supplicate  that  boy.  But  take  care^ 
after  all,  lest  what  you  have  done,  and  are  doing,  so 
laudably  against  Antony,  instead  of  being  applauded 
as  the  effect  of  a  great  mind,  be  not  charged  to  the 
account  of  your  fear.  For  if  you  are  pleased  with 
Octavius,  so  as  to  petition  him  for  our  safety,  you 
will  be  thought  not  to  have  disliked  a  master,  but  to 
have  wanted  a  more  friendly  one*  As  for  myself,  may 
I  never  return  to  you,  if  I  ever  either  supplicate  any 
man,  or  do  not  restrain  those  who  are  disposed  to  do 
it,  from  supplicating  for  themselves:  or  I  will  remove 
to  a  distance  from  all  such  who  can  be  slaves,  and 
fancy  myself  at  Rome,  wherever  I  can  live  free  ; 
and  shall  pity  you,  whose  fond  desire  of  life  neither 
age  nor  honours,  nor  the  example  of  other  men's 
virtue,  can  moderate.  For  my  part,  I  shall  ever 
think  myself  happy,  as  long  as  I  can  please  myself 
with  the  persuasion,  that  my  piety  has  been  fully 
requited.  For  what  can  be  happier  than  for  a  man, 
conscious  of  virtuous  acts,  and  content  with  liberty, 
to  despise  all  human  affairs  ?  Yet  I  will  never  yield 
to  those  who  are  fond  of  yielding,  or  be  conquered 
by  those  who  are  willing  to  be  conquered  themselves  ; 
but  will  first  try  and  attempt  every  thing,  nor  ever 
desist  from  dragging  our  city  out  of  slavery.  If  such 
fortune  attends  me  as  I  ought  to  have,  we  shall  all 
rejoice  :  if  not,  I  shall  rejoice  myself.  For  how  can 
this  life  be  spent  better,  than  in  thoughts  and  acts 
which  tend  to  make  my  countrymen  free  ?  I  beg 
and  beseech  you,  Cicero,  not  to  desert  the  cause 
through  weariness  or  diffidence.    In  repelling  present 


PATIUOTISM.  61 

evils,  have  your  eye  always  on  the  future,  lest  thev 
insinuate  themselves  before  you  are  aware.  Conside'r 
that  the  fortitude  and  the  courage  with  which  you 
delivered  the  republic  when  consul,  and  now  again 
when  consular,  are  nothing  without  constancy  and 
equability.    The  case  of  tried  virtue,  1  own,  is  harder 
than  of  untried  :  we  require  services  from  it  as  debts; 
and,  if  any  thing  disappoints  us,  we  blame  with  re- 
sentment, as  if  we  had  been  deceived  by  it.  Where- 
fore, for  Cicero  to  withstand  Antony,  though  it  be  a 
part  highly  commendable,  yet,  because  such  a  consul 
seemed,  of  course,  to  promise  us  such  a  consular 
nobody  wonders  at  it.    Bat  if  the  same  Cicero,  in 
the  case  of  others,  should  waver  at  last  in  that  re  = 
solution  which  he  exerted  with  such  firmness  and 
greatness  of  mind  against  Antony,  he  would  deprive 
himself,  not  only  of  the  hopes  of  future  glory,  but 
forfeit  even  that  which  is  past:  for  nothing  is%reat 
m  Itself  but  what  flows  from  the  result  of  our  judg- 
ment; nor  does  it  become  any  man,  more  than  you 
to  love  the  republic,  and  to  be  the  patron  of  liberty  • 
on  the  account  either  of  your  natural  talents,  or  your 
tormer  acts,  or  the  wishes  and  expectations  of  all 
men.    Octavms,  therefore,  must  not  be  intreated  to 
sutler  us  to  live  in  safety.    Do  you  rather  rouse  your- 
self  so  far,  as  to  think  that  city  in  which  you^have 
acted  the  noblest  part,  free  and  flourishing,  as  long  as 
there  are  leaders  still  to  the  people  to  resist  the  de^ 
signs  of  traitors.'^ 


o 


62 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


THE  BAKNEVELDTS. 

The  patriotic  zeal  of  Barneveldt,  the  celebrated 
Dutch  statesman,  inducing  him  to  limit  the  authority 
of  Maurice,  Prince  of  Orange,  the  second  Stadt- 
holder  of  Holland,  the  partisans  of  that  prince 
falsely  accused  him  of  a  design  to  deliver  his  country 
into  the  hands  of  the  Spanish  monarch.  On  this 
absurd  charge,  he  was  tried  by  twenty-six  commis- 
sioners deputed  from  the  seven  provinces,  condemned 
and  beheaded  in  1619.  His  sons,  William  and 
Ren6,  with  a  view  of  revenging  the  death  of  their 
father,  formed  a  conspiracy  against  the  usurper, 
which  was  discovered.  William  fled,  but  K6ne  was 
taken  and  condemned  to  die,  which  fatal  circumstance 
has  immortalized  the  memory  of  his  mother,  of  whom 
the  following  anecdote  is  recorded.  She  solicited  a 
pardon  for  Kene  ;  upon  which  Maurice  expressed  his 
surprise,  that  she  should  do  that  for  her  son  which  she 
had  refused  to  do  for  her  husband.  To  this  remark, 
she  reph'ed  with  indignation,  "I  would  not  ask  a 
pardon  for  my  husband,  because  he  was  innocent ; 
I  solicit  it  for  my  son,  because  he  is  guilty." 


LORD  WILLIAM  RUSSELL. 

A  fortunate  occurrence  gave  birth  to  the  wealth, 
honour,  and  patriotism  of  the  Bedford  family.  During 
the  reign  of  Henry  the  Seventh,  the  Archduke  of 
Austria,  on  his  passage  from  Flanders  to  Spain,  was 
driven  hy  a  violent  storm  into  Weymouth,  where  he 
was  hospitably  received  and  princely  entertained 


TATRIOTISM.  63 

by  Sir  Thomas  Trencliard,  whose  house  was  situated 
upon  that  coast,  until  the  king  should  be  informed  of 
his  arrival.    Meanwhile,  Mr.  Thomas  Russell,  who 
lived  in  that  vicinity,  because  he  had  travelled  abroad, 
and  could  speak  different  languages,  was  sent  for  to 
converse  with  the  duke  5  who  was  so  captivated  with 
his  intelligence  and  manners,  that  he  carried  him 
along  with  him  to  court,  where  he  warmly  recom- 
mended him  to  the  king,  who  instantly  made  him 
one  of  his  privy  council.     By  steady  steps,  and 
encreasing   merit,  the  ancestors  of   Lord  Russell" 
added  to  their  fortune  and  fame.    The  patriot  Wil- 
liam Russell  inherited  from  his  ancestors  those  reli- 
gious and  political  principles  which  are  founded  upon 
a  regular  execution  of  our  ancient  constitutional  laws — ' 
government  by  parliaments,  and  trial  by  juries.  Lord 
Russell  was  one  of  those  who  indicted  the  Duke  of 
York  as  a  popish  recusant,  before  the  grand  jury  at 
Westminster ;  but  before  they  could  give  judgment, 
they  were  dismissed  in  an  irregular  manner.  Unmoved 
by  this  defeat,  Lord  Russell  rose  in  his  place  in  the 
House,  and  spoke  in  the  following  manner :   "  Mr. 
Speaker.    Sir,  seeing  by  God's  providence  and  his 
majesty's  favour,  we  are  here  assembled  to  deliberate 
concerning  the  great  affairs  of  the  nation,  I  humbly 
conceive  that  we  ought  to  begin  first  with  that  which 
is  of  most  consequence  to  our  king  and  country,  and 
to  take  into  consideration  how  to  save  the  main,  before 
we  spend  any  time  about  the  particulars.    Sir,  I  am 
of  opinion  that  the  life  of  our  king,  the  safety  of  our 
country  and  the  protestant  religion,  are  in  great 
danger  from  popery  ;  and  that  either  this  parliament 
must  suppress  the  power  and  growth  of  popery,  oyg 
G  2  /'f 


PERCY  ANECDOfES. 


else  that  popery  will  soon  destroy  not  only  parliament, 
but  all  that  is  near  and  dear  to  ns."  His  lordship 
accordingly  moved  that  they  should  take  into  consi- 
deration how  to  suppress  popery,  and  to  prevent  a 
popish  successor;  and  a  bill  passed  the  House  of 
Commons  to  disable  James,  Duke  of  York,  from 
inheriting  the  imperial  crown,  because  he  was  a  papist. 
This  bill  Russell  carried  up  to  the  House  of  Lords, 
where  it  was  lost  by  sixty-three  against  thirty.  On 
this  occasion,  Lord  Russell  is  said  to  have  exclaimed 
with  a  violence  unequal  to  his  nature,  **  If  my  own 
father  had  been  one  of  the  sixty-three,  I  should  have 
voted  him  an  enemy  to  the  king  and  kingdom." 

Upon  another  occasion,  when  the  king  requested  a 
supply.  Lord  Russell  declared,  that  whenever  he 
should  free  the  house  from  the  danger  of  a  popish 
successor,  and  remove  from  his  council  and  places  of 
trust  all  those  who  were  in  the  duke's  interest,  he 
should  be  ready  to  give  all  he  had  in  the  world ;  but 
till  then,  a  vote  of  money  would  only  have  the  elFect 
of  destroying  themselves  with  their  own  hands,  to- 
gether with  the  rights  and  hberties  of  their  country. 
With  equal  steadiness,  and  unabating  fortitude,  he 
continued  to  defend  the  rights  of  his  country  against 
the  unlawful,  unconstitutional,  and  tyrannical  measure 
of  government,  till  he,  at  last,  fell  a  martyr  in  the 
glorious  cause  of  freedom  and  of  his  country. 


INNOVATION. 

The  celebrated  answer  of  our  old  barons,  when  it 
was  proposed  to  introduce  some  part  of  the  Roman 


PATiUOTISM. 


65 


laws,  "  Nolumus  leges  Aiigliae  mutare/'  is  by  no 
means  so  strongly  adverse  to  innovation,  as  an  insti- 
tution of  Charondas,  legislator  of  Thuriuni,  a  city 
of  Magna  Grecia.  Whoever  proposed  a  new  law, 
was  obliged  to  appear  in  tlie  Senate  House  with  a 
rope  about  his  neck,  and  remain  in  that  situation 
during  the  debate.  If  the  law  was  approved,  he  was 
set  at  liberty  ;  but  if  it  was  negatived,  he  was  imme- 
diately strangled. 

sij/gulak  oath  of  allegiance. 

The  people  of  Arragon  in  the  election  of  their 
kings  used  the  following  form  of  election :  "  We, 
the  free-born  inhabitants  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of 
Arragon,  who  are  equal  to  you,  Don  Philip,  and  some- 
thing more,  elect  you  to  be  our  king,  on  condition, 
that  you  preserve  to  us  our  rights  and  privileges. 
If  in  this  you  fail,  we  own  you  for  our  king  no 
longer." 


JULIAN  THE  APOSTATE. 

Julian  the  Apostate  was  not  insensible  of  the 
advantages  of  freedom.  He  sincerely  abhorred  the 
system  of  Oriental  despotism,  which  Diocletian,  Con- 
stantine,  and  the  patient  habits  of  four  score  years, 
had  established  in  the  empire.  A  motive  of  super- 
r  stition  prevented  the  execution  of  the  design  which 
Julian  had  frequently  meditated,  of  relieving  his  head 
from  the  weight  of  a  costly  diadem;  but  he  abso- 
lutely refused  the  title  of  Dorainus,  or  lord,  a  word 
G  3 


66  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

which  was  grown  so  familiar  to  tlie  ears  of  the  Romans, 
that  they  no  longer  remembered  its  servile  and  humi- 
liating origin.  The  office,  or  rather  the  name,  of 
consul,  was  cherished  by  a  prince  who  contemplated 
with  reverence  the  ruins  of  the  republic  ;  and  the 
same  behaviour  which  had  been  assumed  hy  the  pru- 
dence of  Augustus,  was  adopted  by  Julian  from 
choice  and  inclination.  On  the  calends  of  January, 
at  break  of  day,  the  new  consuls,  Mamertinus  and 
Nevitta,  hastened  to  the  palace  to  salute  the  em- 
peror. As  soon  as  he  was  informed  of  their  approach, 
he  leaped  from  his  throne,  eagerly  advanced  to  meet 
them,  and  compelled  the  blushing  magistrates  to 
receive  the  demonstrations  of  his  affected  humility, 
From  the  palace  they  proceeded  to  the  senate.  The 
emperor  on  foot  marched  before  their  litters  ;  and  the 
gazing  multitude  admired  the  image  of  ancient  time, 
or  secretly  blamed  a  conduct  which,  in  their  eyes, 
degraded  the  majesty  of  the  purple. 

During  the  games  of  the  Circus,  he  had  impru- 
dently, or  designedly,  performed  the  manumission  of 
a  slave  in  the  presence  of  the  consul.  The  momcRt 
he  was  reminded  that  he  had  trespassed  on  the  juris- 
diction of  another  magistrate,  he  condemned  himself 
to  pay  a  fine  of  ten  pounds  of  gold,  and  embraced 
that  public  occasion  of  declaring  to  the  world  that  he 
was  subject,  like  the  rest  of  his  fellow  citizens,  to  the 
laws,  and  even  to  the  forms,  of  the  republic. 

The  attention  of  Julian  was  extended  to  every 
province  in  his  empire ;  he  abolished,  by  repeated 
edicts,  the  unjust  and  pernicious  exemptions  which 
had  withdrawn  so  many  idle  citizens  from  the  service 
of  their  country  j  and  by  imposing  an  equal  distri- 


PATRIOTISM.  67 

buiion  of  public  duties,  he  restored  the  strength,  the 
splendour,  or  according  to  the  glowing  expressiok  of 
Libanus,  the  soul  of  the  expiring  cities  of  his  empire. 
He  relieved  the  distress,  and  restored  the  beauty,  of 
the  cities  of  Epirus  and  Peloponnesus.  Athens 
acknowledged  him  for  her  benefactor;  Argos  for 
her  deliverer.  ' 

Julian  sustained  adversity  with  firmness,  and  pros- 
perity with  moderation.     After  an  interval  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  years  from  the  death  of  Alex- 
ander Severus,  the  Romans  beheld  an  emperor  who 
made   no  distinction  between  his  duties  and  his 
pleasures;  who  laboured  to  relieve  the  distress,  and 
10  revive  the  spirit  of  his  subjects ;  and  who  endea- 
voured always  to  connect  authority  with  merit,  and 
happiness  with  virtue.    Even  faction,  and  religious 
faction,  was  constrained  to  acknowledge  the  s'upe- 
riority  of  his  genius,  in  peace  as  well  as°in  war,  and 
to  confess  with  a  sigh,  that  the  apostate  Julian  was  a 
lover  of  his  country,  and  that  he  deserved  the  empire 
of  the  world.  ^ 


CHIEF  JUSTICE  REBUKED. 
A  few  months  before  the  abdication  of  James  the 
Second,  Lord  Chancellor  Jeffries,  of  infamous 
memorv,  went  to  Arundel,  in  order  to  influence  an 
election.  He  took  his  residence  at  the  castle,  and 
went  on  the  day  of  election  to  the  Town  Hall,  where 
Mr.  Peckham,  then  Mayor  of  Arundel,  held  his 
court.  The  mayor,  on  seeing  Jeffries,  instantly 
ordered  him  to  withdraw,  and  in  case  of  refusal, 
threatened  to  commit  him.       You,"  said  he,  "  who 


68  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

ought  to  be  the  guardian  of  our  laws,  and  of  our 
sacred  constitution,  shall  not  thus  audaciously  violate 
them.  This  is  raj  court,  and  mj  jurisdiction  is  above 
yours."  Jeffries,  who  was  unwilling  to  perplex  the 
king's  affahs  further,  retired  immediately.  The  next 
morning  he  invited  Peckham  to  breakfast  with  him, 
which  he  accepted  :  but  he  had  the  honesty  to  refase 
a  lucrative  situation  which  the  chancellor  offered 
bim. 

IXDEPEXDEXT  PATRON. 
The  late  Duke  of  Leinster  having  a  particular 

friendship  for  a  young  banker  in  Dublm,  arising  from 
his  patriotism  and  general  good  character,  returned 
him  for  one  of  his  boroughs.  The  banker,  on  waitmg 
on  his  Grace  to  thank  him  for  the  honour,  received 
this  truly  noble  declaration.  Sir,  I  have  returned 
you  for  this  borough  because  I  think  you  a  good 
private  character,  and  a  man  fit  to  serve  your  country. 
I  have,  however,  one  condition  to  make  with  you  in 
return;  which  is,  that  in  every  parliamentary  dis- 
cussion whatever,  you  never  consider  yourself  in  the 
least  connected  with  me,  or  my  interests." 

GENEROUS  LOYALTY, 

After  the  battle  of  Ivry,  Henry  the  Fourth  of 
.  Prance  being  very  much  in  want  of  money,  asked 
one  of  his  most  trusty  courtiers  where  lie  could  pro- 
cure some.  The  courtier  mentioned  a  rich  merchant's 
^-ife,  who  was  a  zealous  royalist.  The  monarch,  in 
disguise,  immediately  accoiupanied  his  courtier  on 


PATRIOTISM.  6D 
his  visit  to  the  lady,  Madame  le  Clerc,  who  received 
them  with  great  hospitality,  and  congratulated  them 
on  the  success  of  the  king's  arras.  "Alas  !  madam," 
replied  the  courtier,  *♦  to  what  purpose  are  all  our 
victories.  We  are  in  the  greatest  distress  imaginable. 
His  majesty  has  no  money  to  pay  his  troops ;  they 
threaten  to  revolt,  and  join  the  league.  Mayenne 
will  triumph  at  last."  "Is  it  possible  ?"  exclaimed 
Madame  le  Clerc  ;  "  but  I  hope  that  will  not  afflict 
our  sovereign,  and  that  he  will  find  new  resources  in 
the  loyalty  of  his  subjects."  She  then  quitted  the 
room,  but  soon  returned  with  several  bags  of  gold, 
which  she  presented,  saying,  "This  is  all  I  can  do 
at  present.  Go  and  relieve  the  king  from  his  anxiety  ; 
wish  him  all  the  success  and  happiness  lie  deserves  ; 
tell  him  to  be  confident  that  he  reigns  in  the  hearts  of 
his  subjects,  and  that  my  hfe  and  fortune  are,  and 
ever  will  be,  at  his  disposal." 

The  king  could  no  longer  conceal  his  incognito. 
Generous  woman,''.:  he  cried,  "  my  friend  has  no 
occasion  to  go  far  to  tell  his  majesty  the  excellence 
of  your  heart;  here  he  stands  before  you,  and  is  a 
witness  to  it.  Be  assured  that  the  fas^our  will  be 
indelibly  engraved  on  the  heart  of  your  prince." 

From  that  time,  success  attended  the  king  -  and 
when  he  was  master  of  the  capital,  and  safely  seated 
on  the  throne,  he  sent  for  Madame  le  Clerc,  and  pre- 
senting her  to  a  full  and  brilliant  court,  said,  "  You 
see  this  lady,  who  is  a  true  friend  of  mine.  To  her 
I  owe  all  the  successes  of  ray  last  campaigns.*  It  was 
she  who  lent  me  money  to  carry  on  the  war,  when  the 
iroops  threatened  to  abandon  me." 


70 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


SWEDISH  MAGISTRATE. 

As  soon  as  intelligence  was  received  in  Norway, 
that  the  Swedes,  under  Charles  Gustavus,  had  laid 
siege  to  Copenhagen,  Lauritz  Undahl,  a  magistrate 
at  Christiana,  collected  all  his  cash  and  valuables, 
even  to  his  wife's  necklace  and  other  diamonds,  and 
sent  them  to  Holland,  for  the  purchase  of  fire  arms ; 
which,  when  he  obtained,  he  distributed  to  a  company 
of  artillery  raised  at  his  own  expense. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  Frederick  the  Third 
offered  to  reimburse  the  expences  his  subjects  had  in- 
curred in  providing  for  the  defence  of  the  country. 
The  patriotic  Undahl  would  not,  however,  accept  of 
any  recompense.    **  I  consider  it  my  duty,"  said  he, 

to  devote  not  only  my  property,  but  my  life,  to  the 
service  of  my  country." 

SIEGE  OF  ORLEANS  BY  THE  HUNS. 

When  Orleans  was  besieged  by  the  Huns,  under 
the  command  of  Attila,  in  the  fifth  century,  tlie  pas- 
toral diligence  of  Aniauus,  a  bishop  of  primitive 
sanctity,  and  consummate  prudence,  exhausted  every 
art  of  religious  policy  to  support  their  courage  till 
the  arrival  of  the  expected  succours.  After  an 
obstinate  siege,  the  walls  were  shaken  by  the  battering 
rams  ;  the  IJuns  had  already  occupied  the  suburbs  j 
and  the  people  who  were  incapable  of  bearing  arms, 
lay  prostrate  in  prayer.  Anianus,  who  anxiously 
counted  the  days  and  hours,  despatched  a  trusty 
messenger  to  observe  from  the  ramparts  the  face  of 


PATRIOTISM.  71 
the  distant  country.  He  returned  twice  without  nnj 
intelligence  that  could  Inspire  hope  or  comfort ;  but 
in  his  third  report,  he  mentioned  a  small  cloud,  which 
he  had  faintly  descried  at  the  extremity  of  the  horizon. 
"  It  is  the  aid  of  God  V  exclaimed  the  bishop  in  a 
tone  of  patriotism,  joy,  and  pious  confidence ;  and 
the  whole  multitude  repeated  after  him,  "It  is  the  aid 
of  God !"  The  remote  object  on  which  every  eye 
was  fixed,  became  each  moment  larger  and  more 
distinct ;  the  Roman  and  Gothic  banners  were  gra- 
dually perceived  ;  and  soon  discovered,  in  deep  array, 
the  impatient  squadrons  of  ^tius  and  Theodoric, 
who  pressed  forwards  to  the  relief  of  Orleans.  On 
their  approach,  the  king  of  the  Huns  raised  the  siege, 
and  sounded  a  retreat. 


BRITISH  CARPENTER. 

On  the  surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis  in  the  revo- 
lutionary war  of  America,  the  crew  of  the  Loyalist, 
a  frigate  of  twenty-two  guns,  was  immediately  con- 
veyed to  the  Count  de  Grasse's  fleet.  Of  that  fleet, 
the  Ardent,  captured  ofr  Plymouth,  made  one,  but 
she  was  in  a  very  leaky  condition.  The  Count  being 
informed  that  the  carpenter  of  the  Loyalist  was  a 
clever  fellow,  and  perfectly  acquainted  with  the 
chain  pump,  of  which  the  French  were  then  quite 
ignorant,  ordered  him  on  board  the  Ville  de  Paris, 
and  said  to  him,  "  Sir,  you  are  to  go  on  board  the 
Ardent  directly ;  use  your  utmost  skill,  and  save  her 
from  sinking ;  for  which  service,  you  shall  have  a 
premium,  and  the  encouragement  due  to  the  carpenter 
of  an  equal  rate  in  the  British  navy.    To  this  I 


72 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


pledge  my  honour ;  but  if  you  refuse,  you  shall  hare 
nothing  but  bread  and  water  during  your  captivity." 
The  tar,  surprised  at  being  thus  addressed  in  his  own 
language  by  the  French  admiral,  boldly  answered  : 
**  I\oble  Count,  I  am  your  prisoner ;  it  is  in  your 
power  to  compel  me  ;  but  never  let  it  be  said,  that  a 
British  sailor  forgot  his  duty  to  his  king  and  country, 
and  entered  voluntarily  into  the  service  of  the  enemy. 
Your  promises  are  no  induceraent  to  me;  and  youi 
threats  shall  not  force  me  to  injure  my  country." 
To  the  eternal  disgrace  of  Count  de  Grasse,  he  re- 
warded this  noble  conduct  by  wanton  severity  as  long 
as  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  inflict  it;  but  on  his 
exchange.  Admiral  Rodney  appointed  him  carpenter 
of  his  own  ship,  and  which  the  Board  of  Admiralty 
confirmed. 

SIR  JOHN  SPENCER. 

One  of  the  wealthiest  of  London's  lord  mayors^ 
was  also  the  most  patriotic.  This  was  Sir  John 
Spencer,  who  filled  the  civic  chair  in  1594.  In  that 
year,  the  government  required  the  Bridge  House,  or 
city  granary,  as  a  store-house  for  provisions  for  the 
navy  •  but  this  was  refused  by  Sir  John  Spencer, 
who  boldly  remonstrating  with  Lord  Burleigh,  told 
them,  that  in  order  to  provide  against  a  dearth,  the 
Bridge  House  had  been  filled  with  grain  from  foreign 
parts  for  the  use  of  the  city,  and  that  therefore  "  they 
could  with  no  convenience  spare  the  same."  Sir 
John  was  then  told,  that  he  should  hear  more  to  his 
dislike"  for  this  refusal.  He  replied,  that  if  they 
did  procure  any  letters  for  the  Bridge  House,  "  he 
doubted  not  but  to  answer  them  to  their  lordships'  (of 
a  privy  council)  good  acceptance," 


PATRIOTISM.  73 
When  the  queen,  intending  to  take  the  recorder, 
feir  John  Crooke,  into  her  service,  desired  the  lord 
mayor  to  return  her  the  names  of  the  persons  intended 
to  be  put  in  nomination  for  that  office,  the  citizens, 
alarmed  at  so  extraordinary  a  proceeding,  and  fearing 
It  might  affect  their  privileges,  nominated  only  one 
person  ;  and  this  act  was  so  ably  and  firmly  vindi- 
cated by  Sir  John  Spencer,  that  the  queen  never 
made  the  alteration  she  proposed. 

MR.  BAYLY  OF  EPSOM. 

In  1782,  it  was  proposed  in  several  counties  of 
l^ngland,  to  raise  a  subscription  in  each,  sufficient  to 
add  a  ship  of  the  line  to  the  British  navy.  Among  the 
contributors  to  this  patriotic  measure,  was  Nathaniel 
15ajiy,  Esq.  of  Epsom,  who  sent  the  sum  of  one  hun- 
dred guineas,  with  the  following  letter,  to  Mr.  Mid- 
dleton,  Esq.,  the  High  Sheriff  of  Suffolk.  The  letter 
was  dated  September  26,  1782. 

Sir,  After  returning  you  my  thanks  for  the  trouble 
you  are  taking  to  procure  an  adequate  subscription 
in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  for  the  laudable  purpose 
ofaddmgashipof  the  line  to  the  navy  of  Great 
Britain,  give  me  leave  to  beg  that  you  will  subscribe 
a  hundred  guineas  thereto  for  me.  Having  no  estate 
or  interest  in  your  county,  (more  than  in  common  with 
every  Englishman,  who  may  think  himself,  as  I  do, 
deeply  interested  in  every  place  and  part  of  the  Bri' 
tish  empire)  is  the  reason  that  I  did  not  offer  you 
my  mite  sooner  ;  but  hearing  that  the  subscription  h 

nation  .'^^  ^^P^'^^         ^«      liberal  a 

nation,  there  may  be  many  persons  disposed  to  con- 


74  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

tribute  in  the  same  manner,  without  regard  to  local 
interest,  particularly  in  London,  and  other  great  cities, 
which  have  ever  been  remarkable  for  their  liberality. 
So  that  I  doubt  not  if  other  subscriptions  are  set  on 
foot,  they  will  meet  with  the  greatest  encouragement 
in  the  same  way ;  for  I  assure  you,  sir,  and  hereby 
pledge  myself  to  give  the  same  sum,  not  only  to  each 
of  the  twelve  counties  you  have  promised,  but  to 
every  other  county  and  city  in  which  subscriptions 
shall  be  opened  for  the  like  good  purpose,  throughout 
our  three  kingdoms. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  &C. 

NATHANIEL  BAYLY." 


LOYAL  SUBSCRIPTIOKS  OF  1745. 
In  the  rebellion  of  1745,  a  large  subscription  which 
was  entered  into  for  the  support  of  the  government, 
was  filled  with  unexampled  expedition.  The  Duke 
of  Grafton  congratulating  his  royai  master,  George  the 
Second,  on  such  an  unequivocal  proof  of  the  affections 
of  his  subjects,  his  majesty  replied,  in  his  broken 
English,  "  My  good  lord,  my  peoples  be  my  wife ; 
though  they  quarrel  with  me  themselves,  they  will 
not  suffer  others  to  do  it." 

HAMPDEN. 
The  name  of  Hampden  is  dear  to  every  English 
patriot ;  bis  love  of  country  was  untainted  by  sel- 
fishness; his  resistance  to  authority  unstained  by 
crime  ;  he  pleaded  and  remonstrated  against  the  en- 
croacliments  of  power,  until  pleading  and  remon- 
strance were  disregarded ;  and  he  only  resorted  to 


PATRIOTISM.  75 

arms  when  the  liberties  of  his  country  were  so  en- 
dangered, as  to  render  it  criminal  to  remain  any 
longer  passive. 

John  Hampden  was  descended  from  one  of  the 
most  ancient  families  in  Buckinghamshire.  When  he 
had  attained  his  thirtieth  year,  he  was  chosen  to  re- 
present his  native  county  in  parliament;  an  event 
which  roused  to  exertion  those  principles  of  virtue 
and  patriotism  which  seemed  latent  in  his  character. 
He  was  consulted  by  the  ieadmg  members  of  par- 
liament in  all  the  important  points  of  opposition. 
It  was  Hampden's  peculiar  talent  to  act  powerfully 
when  he  seemed  most  disengaged.  He  made  no 
public  figure,  however,  till  1636,  when  he  became 
universally  known  by  a  solemn  trial  at  tlie  King's 
Bench,  on  his  refusing  to  pay  the  ship-money.  He 
carried  himself,  as  Clarendon  tells  us,  through  this 
whole  suit  with  such  singular  temper  and  modesty,  ^ 
that  he  obtained  more  credit  and  advantage  by  losing 
it,  than  the  king  did  service  by  gaining  it.  The  infa- 
mous judgment  given  by  the  judges  on  this  cause, 
only  roused  the  nation  to  a  more  serious  attention 
to  the  conduct  and  views  of  the  court;  and  encou- 
raged those  men  of  genius  and  abilities  who  laid 
the  grounds  for  the  succeeding  revolution,  to  concert 
measures  how  to  improve,  to  an  effectual  height,  the 
growing  discontent. 

From  this  time  Hampden  soon  grew  to  be  one  of 
the  most  popular  men  of  the  nation,  and  a  leading 
member  in  the  Long  Parliament.  The  eyes  of  all 
men,"  says  Clarendon,  were  fixed  upon  him  as  the 
pater  patri(s )  and  the  pilot  that  must  steer  the  vessel 
through  the  tempests  and  rocks  which  tlireatened  it." 
H  2 


76  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

Now  that  be  had  engaged  in  the  important  scheme 
of  abridging  the  power  of  the  court,  and  reform- 
ing the  government  of  the  country,  he  totally  dis- 
carded the  levities  of  bis  youth,  and  became  re- 
markable for  the  sobriety  and  strictness  of  his 
manners ;  which,  still  retaining  his  natural  vivacity 
of  temper,  he  embellished  with  an  affable,  cheerful, 
and  polished  behaviour  in  the  parliament  of  1640, 
an  event  which  had  been  long  and  impatiently  ex- 
pected by  the  people,  and  to  which  the  indefatigable 
industry,  activity,  and  abilities  of  Hampden  had  in 
a  good  measure  conduced.  He  was  one  of  the 
chief  directors  of  the  anti-court  party ;  and  especially 
trusted  in  the  business  of  watching  the  king's  conduct 
in  Scotland,  and  preventing  the  Scots  being  seduced 
from  the  interests  of  liberty,  by  the  cabals  and 
cajolements  of  the  court.  His  art  of  directing  the 
understanding  and  governing  the  inclinations  of  men, 
being  such,  in  all  the  transactions  between  the  two 
nations,  he  was  appointed  by  the  parliament  one  of 
the  commissioners  to  treat  with  that  people.  When 
the  quarrel  between  the  king  and  the  parliament 
came  to  hostilities,  he  accepted  the  command  of  a 
Tegiment  of  foot  under  the  Earl  of  Essex,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  who  opened  the  war,  by  an  action  at 
a  place  called  Brill  in  Buckinghamshire.  As  the 
sagacity  and  intrepidity  of  his  conduct  in  the  character 
of  a  senator,  had  rendered  him  so  much  the  object  of 
the  king's  indignation,  as  to  be  one  of  the  six 
members  marked  for  particular  vengeance,  so  his 
activity  and  bravery  in  the  field,  and  his  wise  and 
spirited  counsels  on  the  operations  of  the  war,  ren- 
dered him  so  formidable  a  rival  of  Essex,  that  it  was 


PATRIOTISM. 


77 


thought,  had  he  lived,  his  party,  who  were  at  this 
time  highly  incensed  at  that  generals  conduct, 
would  have  taken  the  command  from  him,  and  given 
it  to  Hampden. 

Clarendon  lias  drawn  the  portrait  of  this  eminent 
personage ;  but  though  marked  with  those  partial 
lines  which  distinguish  the  hand  of  this  historian,  it 
is  the  testimony  of  an  enemy  to  virtues  possessed 
only  by  the  foremost  rank  of  men.    AH  the  talents 
and  virtues  which  render  private  life  useful,  amiable, 
and  respectable,  were  united  in  Hampden,  in  the 
highest  degree,  with  those  excellences  which  guide 
the  jarring  opinions  of  popular  counsels  to  determine 
points  ;   and,  whilst  he  penetrated  into  the  most 
secret  designs  of  other  men,  he  never  discovered  more 
of  his  own  inclinations  than  was  necessary  to  the 
purpose  in  hand.    In  debate,  he  was  so  much  a 
master,  that,  joining  the  art  of  Socrates  with  the 
graces  of  Cicero,  he  fixed  his  own  opinion  under  the 
modest  guise  of  desiring  to  improve  by  that  of 
others;  and,  contrary  to  the  nature  of  disputes,  left 
a  pleasing  impression,  which  prejudiced  his  antagonist 
in  his  favour,  even  when  he  had  not  convinced  or 
altered  his  judgment.  His  behaviour  was  so  generally 
uniform,  and  unaffectedly  aflfable,  and  his  conversation 
so  enlivened  by  his  vivacity,  so  seasoned  by  his 
knowledge  and  understanding,  and  so  well  applied 
to  the  genius,  humour,  and  prejudices  of  those  he 
conversed  with,  that  his  talents,  to  gain  popularity, 
were  absolute.    With  qualities  of  this  high  nature, 
he  possessed  in  council  penetration  and  discernment, 
with  a  sagacity  on  which  no  one  could  impose,  an 
industry  and  vigilance  which  were  indefatigable,  with 


^8 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


•the  entire  command  of  his  passions  and  affections,  an 
advantage  which  gave  him  a  decided'  superiority  over 
less  regulated  minds.  Whilst  there  were  any  hopes 
that  the  administration  of  the  country  could  be  cor- 
rected, without  the  entire  overthrow  of  the  consti- 
tution, Hampden  chose,  before  other  preferment,  the 
superintendence  of  the  prince's  mind,  aiming  to 
correct  the  source  from  whence  the  happiness  or  mis- 
fortunes of  the  empire,  if  the  government  continued 
monarchical,  must  flow  :  but  the  aversion  which  the 
king  discovered  to  those  regulations  which  were 
necessary  to  secure  the  freedom  of  the  constitution 
from  any  future  attempt  of  the  crown,  with  the 
schemes  he  had  entered  on  to  punish  the  authors  of 
reformation,  and  rescind  his  concessions,  determined 
the  conduct  of  Hampden.  Convinced  that  Charles's 
affections  and  understanding  were  too  corrupt  to  be 
trusted  with  power  in  any  degree,  he  sought  the 
abolition  of  monarchy,  as  the  only  cure  to  national 
grievances,  warmly  opposing  all  overtures  for  treaties, 
as  dangerous  snares,  or  any  other  expedient  than  con- 
quest for  accommodation. 

This  virtuous  patriot  was  shot  in  the  shoulder  by  a 
brace  of  bullets  on  Chalgrove  field  in  the  year  1642, 
and  after  lingering  six  days,  expired  in  exquisite  pain. 
The  king  on  hearing  of  Hampden  being  wounded, 
though  he  was  then  in  arms  against  him,  immediately 
sent  his  own  physician  to  attend  him,  and  expressed  his 
consciousness  of  his  integrity,  and  the  regret  he  felt 
at  his  severe  wound. 

In  such  respect  is  the  memory  of  Hampden  still 
held  by  his  grateful  countrymen,  that  some  years  ago 
4>ne  of  his  descendants  being  deficient  in  an  amount 


PATRIOTISM.  79 

of  public  money,  he  was  exonerated  from  the  debt 
due  to  government  by  an  act  of  parliament,  parti- 
cularly expressing  that  it  was  for  the  services  which  his 
illustrious  ancestor  had  rendered  to  the  country,  that 
this  mark  of  favour  was  shown  to  him. 


THE  RAT  IN  THE  STATUE. 
Hoen  Thong,  the  Emperor  of  China,  was  sitting 
one  day  in  the  gardens  of  Pekin  with  his  favourite 
counsellor  Ti  Chi.    They  talked  of  the  long  glories 
of  the  Chinese  empire,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  to  the  present  era ;  the  excellence  of  its  laAvs, 
and  the  wisdom  of  its  government.     "  Ti  Chi," 
said  the  emperor,  "  what  is  most  to  be  feared  in  a 
government  r    "  In  my  opinion,  sire,"  replied  the 
counsellor,    nothing  is  more  to  be  dreaded  than  what 
they  call  the  '  Rat  in  the  Statue.'  "   The  emperor  not 
understanding  the  allegory,  Ti  Chi  explained  it  to 
him.       You  know,  sire,"  said  he,      that  it  is  a 
common  practice  to  erect  statues  to  the  genius  of 
the  place ;  these  statues  are  of  wood,  hollow  within, 
and  painted  without.  If  a  rat  gets  into  one  of  them, 
one  does  not  know  how  to  get  him  out.    One  dares 
not  make  use  of  iire,  for  fear  of  burning  the  wood; 
one  cannot  dip  it  in  water,  for  fear  of  washing  off  the 
colours ;  so  that  the  regard  one  has  for  the  statue,  saves 
the  rat  that  has  got  into  it.    Such,  sire,  are  in  every 
government,  those  who,  without  virtue  or  merit,  have 
gained  the  favour  of  their  prince.    They  ruin  every 
thing ;  one  sees  it,  one  laments  it,  but  one  does  not 
Know  how  to  remedy  it." 


80 


PERCY  AMECDOTES. 


SIR  JEROME  BOWES. 
Sir  Jerome  Bowes,  who  was  proud  of  being  the 
guardian  of  his  sovereign's  and  his  country's  honour, 
was  sent  to  Moscow  as  ambassador  from  Queen 
Elizabeth  to  the  Emperor  Ian  Vasilovich.  On  entering 
the  presence  chamber,  he  was  desired  by  the  emperor 
to  take  his  seat  at  ten  paces  distance,  and  send  to  him 
her  majesty's  letter  and  present.  Sir  Jerome  thinking 
this  unreasonable,  stept  forward  towards  the  emperor, 
but  was  intercepted  by  the  chancellor,  who  wished  to 
take  the  letters.  The  ambassador  said,  that  "her 
majesty  had  directed  no  letters  to  him,"  and  so  went 
forward,  anddeliYcred  them  himself  into  the  emperor's 
own  hands. 

In  the  course  of  his  mission,  Sir  Jerome  stanaing 
up  boldly  for  his  country,  offended  the  emperor,  who 
with  a  stern  and  angry  countenance  told  him,  **  that 
he  did  not  reckon  the  Queen  of  England  to  be  his 
fellow."  Sir  Jerome  disliking  such  speeches,  and 
unwilling  to  suffer  this  autocrat  to  speak  lightly 
of  the  honour  and  greatness  of  her  majesty,  boldly 
told  him  to  his  face,  "  that  the  queen,  his  mistress, 
was  as  great  as  any  prince  in  Christendom,  equal 
to  him  that  thought  himself  the  greatest,  and  well 
able  to  defend  herself  against  the  malice  of  any 
whomsoever."  The  emperor  on  this  was  so  enraged, 
that  he  declared,  "  if  he  were  not  an  ambassador,  he 
would  throw  him  out  of  doors."  Sir  Jerome  replied 
coolly,  "  that  he  was  in  his  power,  but  he  had  a  mis- 
tress who  would  revenge  any  injury  done  to  him."  The 
emperor  unable  to  bear  it  longer,  bade  him  get  home  j 


PATRIOTISM.  81 

when  Sir  Jerome,  *'  with  no  more  reverence  than  such 
usage  required,  saluted  the  emperor  and  departed." 

No  sooner  was  the  ambassador  gone,  and  the 
emperor's  rage  somewhat  abated,  than  "he  com- 
mended the  ambassador  before  his  council,  because 
he  would  not  endure  one  ill  word  to  be  spoken  against 
his  mistress,  and  therewithal  wished  himself  to  have 
such  a  servant/'  After  this,  Sir  Jerome  was  treated 
with  such  high  distinction,  and  obtained  such  great 
privileges  for  the  English  nation,  that  Ian  Vasilovich 
was  henceforth  named  by  his  enemies,  "  the  English 
Emperor.'' 


LORENZO  DE  MEDICI. 
No  man  ever  died  in  Florence,  or  in  the  whole  ex- 
tent of  Italy,  with  a  higher  reputation,  or  was  more 
lamented  by  his  country,  than  Lorenzo  de  Medici. 
Not  only  his  fellow  citizens,  but  all  the  princes  in 
Italy,  were  so  sensibly  affected  by  his  death,  that  there 
was  not  one  of  them  who  did  not  send  ambassadors 
to  Florence,  to  testify  their  grief,  and  to  condole  with 
the  republic  on  so  great  a  loss.  That  they  had  just 
reasons  for  these  demonstrations  of  sorrow,  was  soon 
fully  manifested  ;  for  immediately  after  his  decease, 
such  a  flame  of  discord  was  kindled,  as  has  preyed 
upon  the  vitals  of  Italy  ever  since.  As  a  patron  of 
the  arts,  Lorenzo  was  as  much  distinguished  as  he  was 
for  his  patriotism.  He  restored  the  academy  of  Pisa 
founded  another  at  Florence,  and  formed  a  noble  gal- 
lery  and  garden.  Well,  therefore,  did  he  merit  the 
title  of  "Lorenzo  the  Magnificent," 


82 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


ALEXANDER,  THE  ROMAN  EMPEROR. 

So  deeply  was  the  love  of  his  country  impressed 
on  the  mind  of  Alexander,  the  Roman  emperor,  that 
he  is  said  never  to  have  given  any  public  office  out  of 
favour  or  friendship;  but  to  have  employed  such 
only  as  were,  both  by  himself  and  the  senate,  judged 
the  best  qualified  for  the  discharge  of  the  trust 
reposed  in  then).    He  preferred  one  to  the  command 
of  the  guards,  who  had  retired  into  the  country  on 
purpose  to  avoid  that  office,  saying,  that  with  him, 
the  declining  such  honourable  employments  was  the 
best  recommendation  to  them.    He  would  not  suffer 
any  public  employments  to  be  sold,  saying,  "He 
who  buys,  must  sell  in  his  turn ;  and  it  would  be 
unjust  to  punish  one  for  selling,  after  he  has  been 
suffered  to  buy."    He  never  pardoned  any  crime 
committed  against  the  public  ;  but  suffered  no  one  to 
be  condemned,  till  his  cause  was  thoroughly  heard, 
and  his  affence  evidently  proved.    He  was  an  irre- 
concilable enemy  to  such  as  were  convicted  of  having 
plundered  the  provinces,  and  oppressed  the  people 
committed  to  their  care.    These  he  never  spared,  : 
though  his  friends,  favourites,  and  kinsmen;  but 
sentenced  them  to  death,  and  caused  them  to  be  exe- 
cuted like  common  malefactors,  notwithstanding  their 
quality  or  former  services. 

CORSICA. 

"  I  defy,"  said  the  brave  General  Paoli,     Rome,  , 
Sparta,  or  Thebes,  to  show  me  thirty  years  of  such 
patriotism  as  Corsica  can  boast."    This  little  island 


PATRIOTISM.  83 

has  experienced  more  vicissitudes,  and  been  subjected 
to  a  greater  variety  of  masters,  than  any  other  part 
of  Europe.  Different  states  have  held  it  in  subjection 
by  turns,  just  as  their  poAver  predominated  over  that 
of  their  neighbours.  During  the  prosperity  of  the 
Carthaginians,  Corsica  owned  them  for  its  lords ; 
afterwards  it  passed  successively  to  the  Romans,  and 
to  their  conquerors,  the  barbarians  from  the  north ; 
then  to  the  Saracens  ;  afterwards  to  the  Pope,  who 
made  a  transfer  of  it  to  the  Pisans ;  and  lastly,  it 
was  wrested  from  them  by  their  more  powerful  neigh- 
•  hours  and  competitors,  the  Genoese  ;  who,  after  some 
severe  struggles,  attended  with  varied  successes, 
became,  in  1354,  its  complete  and  undisputed  sove* 
reigns. 

The  despotism  of  the  Genoese,  made  all  the  former 
durance  and  sufferings  of  the  Corsicans  appear  light 
and  trivial.  The  yoke  was,  however,  too  formidable 
to  be  easily  broken;  until,  unable  to  bear  longer 
their  oppressions,  they  revolted  in  formidable  numbers 
in  1729,  and  obtained  several  successes  over  the 
Genoese.  It  was  in  the  course  of  this  protracted 
contest,  that  Theodore  de  Newhoff  was  elected  king; 
but  after  a  short  and  unhappy  reign,  he  resigned  the 
office.  The  Corsicans  still  continued  to  struggle, 
under  their  own  patriot  leaders,  to  emancipate  their 
country,  when,  in  1755,  Pascal  Paoli,  then  a  student 
at  JVaples,  was  raised  to  the  chief  command.  Nothing 
could  be  more  gratifying  to  the  feelings  of  Pascal, 
than  this  voluntary  and  striking  testimony  of  the 
good  opinion  and  attachment  of  the  people  among 
w^hom  he  had  been  born ;  and,  impressed  with  the 
generous  ambition  of  serving  his  country,  by  asserting 


84  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

its  liberties,  he  resolved  to  comply  with  the  lionour- 
able  proposal  which  had  been  made  to  him.  His 
resolution  on  this  occasion  was  not  the  rash  impulse  of 
the  moment,  induced  by  the  prospect,  fascinating  at 
all  times  to  the  mind  of  youth,  of  eminence  and  fame  5 
it  was  the  reluctant  determination  of  genuine  patriot- 
ism, in  which  his  diffidence  and  fear  were  forcibly 
overcome  by  the  imperious  calls  of  public  duty.  Of 
the  greatness  of  the  undertaking  in  which  he  was 
about  to  embark,  and  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers 
attending  it,  he  was  by  no  means  insensible ;  but, 
considering  his  abilities,  whatever  they  might  be,  as 
the  rightful  property  of  his  country,  he  nobly  deter- 
mined to  make  every  necessary  sacrifice  of  a  personal 
nature,  to  advance  as  far  as  he  was  able,  its  welfare 
and  prosperity.  This  resolution  was  highly  pleasing 
to  his  venerable  father.  He  viewed  with  feelings  of 
parental  exultation,  the  obedience  of  his  son  to  the 
calls  of  his  oppressed  country ;  and  a  ray  of  patriotic 
hope  beamed  in  his  countenance,  when  he  beheld  him 
about  to  embark,  in  all  the  fire  of  youth,  in  the  great 
cause  to  which  he  had  himself  devoted  many  of  the 
best  years  of  his  protracted  life.  When  on  the  eve 
of  bidding  a  last  adieu  to  his  son,  the  venerable  sire, 
agitated  by  a  crowd  of  contending  feelings,  addressed 
him  in  the  following  affectionate  language :  "  My 
son,  I  may  possibly  never  see  you  more;  but  in  my 
mind  I  shall  ever  be  present  with  you.  Your  design 
is  a  great  and  a  noble  one ;  and  I  doubt  not  but  that 
God  will  bless  you  in  it.  The  little  which  remains  to 
me  of  life,  I  will  allot  to  your  cause,  in  offering  up 
niy  prayers  and  supplications  to  heaven  for  your 
protection  and  prosperity." 


PATRIOTISM.  86 
_  When  Paoli  landed  in  the  island,  all  was  enthu- 
siasm and  hope.    His  appearance  seemed  to  verifv 
every  eulogiura  which  had  been  passed  upon  his 
character,  and  to  realize  every  expectation  which  liad 
been  formed  upon  the  report  of  his  talents.    His  dig- 
nilied,  though  modest  demeanour,  his  manly  aspect, 
and  general  firmness  and  energy  of  character,  ren- 
dered more  engaging  and  attractive  by  his  amiable 
temper,  and  affable  deportment  towards  all  with  whom 
he  conversed,  warmed  all  hearts  with  admiration,  and 
attorded  an  auspicious  earnest  of  the  eminence  he 
was  ulfmately  to  attain.    His  formal  appointment  to 
the  chief  command,  which  took  place  soon  after  his 
arrival,  was  announced  to  the  public  in  a  proclamation 
of  the  supreme  council,  dated  at  St.  Antonio  of  the 
White  House,  July  15,  1755.     At  the  time  Paoli 
vvas  invested  with  the  government  of  the  island,  the 
state  of  lis  affairs,  and  the  general  condition  of  its 
inhabitants  were  most  disorderly  and  wretched,  and 
required  the  most  prompt  exertions  of  the  ereat 
powers  of  his  genius  to  regulate  and  reform  them. 
The  Genoese,  notwithstanding  every  exertion  to  expel 
them,  were  still  m  possession  of  a  great  part  of  the 
country ;  and  there  was  a  total  want  of  that  discipline 
and  subordmation  among  the  Corsican  troops,  and  of 
!«t^-T°°^  '""^  confidence  among  their  leaders,  so 
essentially  necessary  to  enable  them  to  act  with 
vigour  and  effect;  and  they  were  almost  entirely 
destitute  of  the  arms,  ammunition,  and  money,  requi^ 
site  to  prosecute  a  successful  warfare  against  %o 

tend  with    '  ^  ^"^  ^""^ 

Paoli  was,  however,  soon  enabled  to  drive  the  Genoese 


86  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

from  all  the  interior  districts,  and  to  confine  them  to  the 
maritime  towns.  The  people  under  the  command  of 
Paoli,  had  now  become  tolerably  united,  and  cordially 
co-operated  with  the  ruling  powers.  Strong  measures 
were  therefore  adopted  to  harass  the  enemy,  and  a 
spirited  manifesto  was  published,  inviting  the  Corsicans 
to  come  forward,  and  to  exert  their  utmost  power  to 
emancipate  themselves  from  the  bondage  under  which 
they  had  so  long  groaned.  The  Genoese  became 
alarmed,  well  knowing,  by  dear-bought  experience, 
the  courage  and  intrepidity  of  the  islanders,  and 
beholding,  with  trepidation  and  alarm,  the  encreased 
energies  with  which  they  had  been  inspired  by  the 
wise  counsels  and  animating  example  of  their  patriotic 
leader.  The  Genoese  sought  to  negociate,  but  Paoli 
and  his  brave  associates  in  arms  resolved  never  to 
make  peace,  until  the  Genoese  should  recognize  the 
freedom  and  independence  of  Corsica.  All  prospect 
of  negociation  being  thus  broken  off,  the  affairs  of 
the  Corsican  patriots  assumed  a  most  serious  aspect* 
They  presented  memorials  to  the  sovereigns  of 
Europe,  in  the  hopes  that  some  one  would  interfere 
in  their  behalf ;  but 

"Truths  would  you  teach,  and  save  a  sinking  land^ 
All  hear,  none  aid  you,  and  few  understand;" 

and  the  Corsicans,  instead  of  support,  found  that  France 
had  agreed  by  treaty  to  assist  Genoa  with  six  bat- 
talions, to  garrison  the  towns  they  still  held  in  Cor- 
sica. During  the  four  years  for  which  this  treaty 
was  to  remain  in  force,  Paoli  confined  his  attention 
principally  to  such  regulations  as  were  necessary  to 
preserve  tlie  country  from  being  harassed  and  plun- 


PATRIOTISM.  87 
dered  by  these  auxiliaries;  and  the  only  military 
operation  of  consequence  which  took  place  in  this 
interval,  was  an  attack  upon  the  small  island  of 
Capraja,  in  the  vicinity  of  Corsica,  then  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Genoese  ;  which,  after  a  vigorous 
assault,  was  carried  by  the  patriots,  in  the  month  of 
May,  1767. 

When  Paoli  and  his  followers  were  anxiously 
.waiting  the  expiration  of  the  term  during  which  the 
Genoese  were  to  receive  the  assistance  of  the  French 
forces  sent  to  the  island,  an  event  happened,  which 
threw  a  dark  cloud  over  this  devoted  country  and  its 
brave  defenders,  and  excited  the  indignation  of  every 
considerate  man  in  Europe.   The  republic,  beholding 
the  unyielding  constancy  with  which  the  Corsicans 
maintained  their  cause,  and  reflecting  upon  the  im- 
mense expences  of  the  contest  they  were  carrying  on 
against  them,  entered  into  a  negociation  with  the 
French  court  to  transfer  the  island  ;  and  actually  con- 
cluded a  treaty,  whereby  they  transferred  to  them 
all  their  claims,  such  as  they  were,  to  its  possession 
and  sovereignty.    As  a  preliminary  step  in  the  rati- 
fication of  this  treaty,  the  towns  then  garrisoned  by 
the  Jrench  troops,  were  to  be  considered  as  ceded  to 
France;  and  the  remainder  of  the  island  was  to  be 
recovered  from  Paoli  by  the  French  themselves,  either 
by  negociation  or  by  force.    The  French  minister, 
the  Duke  de  Choiseul,  was  certainly  very  ill-advised 
in  this  unfortunate  bargain.    Notwithstanding  the 
lesson  which  the  fatal  experience  of  the  Genoese 
might  have  taught  him  to  the  contrary,  he  appears 
to  have  thought,  that  in  the  hands  of  France,  the 
conquest  or  subjugation  of  the  island  might  be  accora^ 
I  2 


88  PERCY  ANECfiOTES. 

plished  without  muck  difficulty  j  and  little  knowing 
the  firm  and  determined  character  of  genuine  patriot- 
ism, exerting  itself  in  the  defence  of  all  that  is  dear 
to  man,  he  made  overtures  to  Paoli  to  forego  any 
farther  opposition,  and  to  suffer  the  French  govern- 
ment to  take  quiet  possession  of  their  purchased 
territory.  To  induce  his  compliance,  it  was  proposed 
to  him,  to  recognise  his  commission  as  commander-in- 
chief,  and  to  continue  to  him  that  rank  and  authority, 
with  this  only,  though  indeed  essential,  difference, 
that  he  was  to  hold  it  under  the  supreme  authority  of 
the  French  government.  But  Paoli  was  not  to  be  so 
easily  inveigled  into  the  toils  of  a  corrupt  court.  He 
rejected  its  proposal  with  becoming  dignity  and  spirit, 
declaring  that  "  the  rocks  which  surrounded  him 
should  melt  away,  ere  he  would  betray  a  cause  which 
he  held  in  common  with  the  meanest  Corsican." 
Negociations  having  thus  proved  ineffectual  to  corrupt 
this  Timoleon  of  modern  times,  the  French  minister 
found  he  must  have  recourse  to  more  powerful  means 
to  force  his  submission.  The  war  was  begun  by  the 
French  troops  already  in  the  island,under  the  command 
of  the  Count  de  Marbeuf ;  but  as  it  was  soon  per- 
ceived that  this  force  was  too  small  and  insignificant 
to  prosecute  any  offensive  operations  of  consequence, 
a  reinforcement,  consisting  of  about  five  thousand 
men,  under  the  command  of  the  Marquess  de 
Chauvelin,  was  sent  to  its  assistance.  These  troops 
landed  at  Bastia,  flushed  with  the  most  sanguine 
hopes  of  victory,  considering  it  impossible  that  so  dis- 
orderly and  ill-accoutred  an  army  as  that  of  Paoli 
appeared  to  them,  could  long  hold  out  against  so 
Eiumerous  and  well  disciplined  a  body  as  themselves. 


PATRIOTISM. 


89 


The  event,  however,  proved  that  they  were  mistaken. 
In  their  first  attack,  indeed,  they  proved  successful, 
and  forced  their  enemies  to  relinquish  the  entrench- 
ments which  they  had  formed  on  the  heights  of 
Croce,  Maillebois,  and  St.  Antonio  ;  but  being  too 
highly  elated  with  this  advantage,  they  pursued  their 
career  with  too  little  circumspection,  and  fell  into  a 
snare,  which  Paoli,  who  had  withdrawn  his  troops  to 
the  other  side  of  the  Guolo,  had  laid  for  them.  They 
were  suddenly  attacked  by  five  or  six  thousand  raen, 
nnder  the  command  of  Clement  Paoli,  the  brother  of 
Pascal,  and  routed  in  all  directions.  Paoli  imme- 
diately proceeded  to  lay  siege  to  Borgo,  a  strong 
position  of  which  the  French  had  obtained  possession 
in  their  first  successes,  and  which  had  been  entrusted 
to  the  command  of  M.  de  Lude.  Having  no  artillery, 
their  menaces  were  regarded  as  impotent  by  their 
enemies,  and  treated  with  ridicule.  The  Corsicans, 
however,  invested  the  place  on  the  5th  of  December, 
and  blockaded  DeLude  and  his  troops  so  completely, 
as  to  cut  olf  all  communication  between  him  and  the 
main  body,  and  to  deprive  him  of  all  supplies  of 
water  for  himself  and  his  men.  At  length  his  situa- 
tion became  so  desperate,  that  M.  de  Chauvelin  con- 
ceived it  to  be  his  duty  to  risk  the  safety  of  his 
whole  army  to  endeavour  to  relieve  him.  Accordingly, 
an  ill-conducted  attack  was  made  on  the  Cor- 
sicans, which  terminated  in  their  complete  success. 
The  French  forces  were  driven  back  with  the  loss  of 
about  three  hundred  men,  and  De  Lude  was  obliged 
to  capitulate,  with  all  the  infantry,  the  colours  of  the 
xoyal  legion,  and  four  pieces  of  artillery,  while  the 
victorious  Corsicans  had  not  to  lament  the  loss  of 
I  3 


90 


PERCY  ANECDOTES* 


one  man  in  any  part  of  the  engagement.    After  this 
signal  defeat,  in  which  Paoliand  his  brave  country  men 
covered  themselves  with  glory,  M.  de  Chauvelin 
retreated  in  consternation  to  Bastia,  leaving  his  con- 
querors in  quiet  possession  of  the  field  they  had  so 
nobly  won.  The  French  commander  soon  afterwards 
returned  home  in  disgrace,  and  Marbeuf  succeeded 
him  pro  tempore*    A  suspension  of  arms  was  agreed^ 
upon  between  the  new  commander  and  Paolij  but 
Dumourier,  who  served  in  the  French  army  as  adju- 
tant-general, being  at  variance  with  Marbeuf,  deter- 
mined not  to  remain  idle.    Under  pretence  that  the 
Corsicans  in  opposition  to  Paoli,  were  not  included 
in  this  treaty,  he  intrigued  with  several  of  the  prin- 
cipal families  among  them,  agreed  to  carry  on  the  war 
at  their  head,  and  actually  assaulted  the  post  of  Isola 
Rossa,  and  took  the  tower  of  Giralette  by  storm. 
This  impotent  M^arfare  was,  however,  soon  terminated; 
and  the  Corsican  patriots  had  leisure  to  direct  their 
thoughts  to  operations  of  greater  consequence.  Elated 
by  their  late  successes,  and  willing  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  favourable  opportunity  which  the  consternation 
of  their  invaders  offered  for  the  purpose,  they  en- 
tered into  a  regular  and  systematic  conspiracy,  to 
destroy  or  utterly  to  expel  them  from  the  island. 
All  the  quarters  occupied  by  the  French  were  to  be 
assaulted  at  one  and  the  same  time,  and  six  battalions 
that  wintered  in  Oletta  were  to  be  murdered  by  their 
hosts.    This  massacre  did  not  take  place,  but  the 
general  attack  was  carried  into  execution,    A  bat- 
talion of  the  regiment  of  La  Mark  was  surprised  and 
cut  off  in  the  Patrimonio.  Reprisals  ensued,  and  the 
war  again  broke  out  with  increased  Tiolence. 


Patriotism.  gj 
favourable  as  was  the  termination  of  this  campaien 
to  Paoh  and  h,s  followers,  they  were  too  soon  con- 
vmced  that  their  victory  had  not  secured  them  anv 
lastmgadvantages.  They  found  that  France  had  sen^ 
a  remforcement  of  twenty  battalions  and  two  legion" 
under  the  command  of  the  Count  de  Vaux,  whose 
m.htary  talents  and  resolution  Paoli  well  W  how 
.    to  estimate.   Desperate  as  the  affairs  of  the  islander^ 
had  now  become,  they  did  not  despair,  but  appeared 
ammated  wrth  life  and  vigour,  proportioned^  £ 
e.n,_,  and  determined  to  grasp^he  darling  form 
of  liberty,  while  hfe  or  hope  remained.    To  the  fo^ 
aidable  armament  of  their  enemies,  they  opposed  a 
firm   undaunted  front,  tenaciously  defending  and 

to  ttieir  foes.    These  foes  were,  however,  too  nume 
rous  and  too  formidable  ;  and  Paoli  and  his  brave" 
associates,  after  prosecuting  the  struggle  for  ZZl 
tinie  even  when  it  became  hopeless,  lere  obi  led  to 
abandon  their  country  to  its  unprincipled  spoilfrs. 
.erft.      •      ^"J^.^°''^l'ofell  in  one  of  the  des- 
perate actions  against  the  Genoese,  when  dvin^ 
-wrote  to  Paoli  thus:  "I  salute  von  Tub 
xny  aged  father    In  two  ho™  fshall^elirthe 
rest  who  have  bravely  died  for  their  country." 

PAOLI. 

Pa^!'/°I!-'"r^.''"''^"'"  ""^  secretary  of  General 

have  ventured  to  acquaint  you  by  oL  o{  o»X-  a 
^a.  we  expect  this  nV  Jse.tleVe  Jthod  Tot' 


9-2  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

embarkation.  We  are  here  to  the  number  of  five 
liundred  and  thirty-seven,  entirely  surrounded  by 
four  thousand  of  the  French  army.  Our  general 
never  showed  himself  greater  than  in  the  midst  of  his 
misfortunes  ;  he  animates  us  by  his  example,  and  con- 
soles us  by  his  discourse  continually.  Yesterday  he 
ascended  a  small  eminence  in  the  middle  of  the 
camp,  and  delivered  the  speech  which  I  have  inclosed. 
We  are  resolved  to  die  with  our  arms  in  our  hands,  if 
we  do  not  succeed  in  escaping  to  some  other  place, 
where  we  hope  to  wait  until  a  change  of  chrcum- 
3tances  revives  our  expectations,  and  again  restores  us 
to  our  country. 

PAOLl's  SPEECH. 

"At  length,  my  brave  companions,  we  are  re- 
duced to  the  last  extremity.  That  dreadful  event, 
which  neither  a  war  of  thirty  years,  the  rancorous 
hatred  of  the  Genoese,  nor  the  forces  of  different 
European  powers,  could  bring  about,  is  now  produced 
by  the  effect  of  gold  alone !  Our  unfortunate  country- 
men, deceived  and  led  away  by  their  corrupted  chiefs, 
are  even  going  themselves  to  embrace  those  chains 
which  are  forging  for  them  1  Our  once  happy  con- 
stitution is  overthrown !  Most  of  our  friends  are 
either  slam  or  made  prisoners !  and  for  us,  who  have 
had  the  misfortune  to  see  and  weep  over  the  ruins  of 
our  country,  what  remains  ?  IS^othingbut  a  sad  alter- 
native, death  or  slavery  !  Can  any  of  you,  to  lengthen 
out  a  short  life  of  wretchedness,  become  slaves  to 
injustice  and  oppression?  Alas!  my  dear  friends, 
let  us  reject  with  scorn  that  shameful  thought.  As 
neither  the  gold  nor  the  splendid  offers  of  France, 


PATRIOTISM.  93 
have  had  power  to  tempt  me  to  dishonour,  I  irust  the 
success  of  their  arms  has  not  made  me  contemptible, 
no  h  „  ''P"'^"°"  having  conquered,  there  is 
nothing  more  estimable  than  a  glorious  death  !  Let 

^sLn.  'l    r^^-  in  a 

co  l,  .  wa,t  for  happier  times  to  avenge  our 
country  s  wrongs,  or  terminate  our  honourable  career 

Z^IT-^'       'y--^  g'oaousi/:s'Te 

of  l-iff*!''  '"f"  ''"^^  ^'^^'^"^'^  followers 
fouoht  h-  '".^        ""^  ''^^'^  «^  "ight,  having 

inn       !>      ^  °"        ^ea  shore,  where  he 

to    Lti  ^^K  ^"'^^''^""^  f-"'^ 
LeZrn     r  ^"8''^''  ^«^^<=1  bound  to 

f  h^r\  ,f  ^     All  the  English  ships  saluted  him  with 
their  ar  illerj.  and  displayed  their  colours ;  and  thou" 

ramed  most  violently  when  he  landed,  the  people  of 
all  ranks  ran  .„  crowds  towards  the  mol^  andCce  ted 
the  brave  ch,ef  with  the  greatest  acclam;tions  of  joy  . 

PATRIOT  FATHERS. 

wa!t:ed°L^:;j/rufrv^c^^^ 

commanded  hy  Gafffri.  By  altLgLt^to?^ 
he  nurse  who  had  the  care  of  Gaffori's  eldest  son 
tl  en  an  mfant.  wandering  some  distance  f?o  „  the 
camp  was  seen  by  the  Genoese,  who  making  a  s  dd  n 
*ally,  seized  the  nurse  and  the  child,  af  d  carried 


94  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

them  into  the  castle.    This  circumstance  cast  a  great 
damp  over  the  Corsican  army,  and  the  Genoese 
thought  they  might  demand  any  terras  from  Gaffori. 
while  they  retained  so  dear  a  pledge.    When  he  ad-  _ 
vanced  with  his  cannon  against  the  castle,  they  held  M 
up  his  son  directly  over  that  part  of  the  wall  agamst  « 
which  his  artillery  was  levelled.     The  Corsicans  W 
stopped,  and  began  to  draw  back;  but  Gaffori,  with  ^ 
the  resolution  of  a  Roman,  stood  at  their  head,  and 
ordered  them  to  continue  their  fire.    Fortunately  his 
firmness  was  not  broken  by  losing  his  child,  as  it 
escaped  unhurt. 

Gaffori,  previous  to  the  revolutionary  war  under 
Paoli,  was  once  informed  that  a  band  of  assassins 
were  coming  against  him.  He  went  out  and  met 
them  with  serene  dignity,  and  begging  that  they 
would  hear  him,  if  but  for  a  moment,  he  gave  them 
so  pathetic  a  picture  of  the  distresses  of  their  country, 
and  roused  them  to  such  a  degree  against  the  authors 
of  their  oppression,  that  the  assassins  threw  themselves 
at  his  feet,  implored  his  forgiveness,  and  instantly 
joined  his  banners. 

In  the  struggles  which  Corsica  made  to  shake  ott 
the  yoke  of  the  Genoese,  two  sons  of  Count  Domenico 
Rivarola  were  seized,  though  in  a  Tuscan  vessel  with 
a  Bridsh  passport,  and  carried  to  Genoa.  The  re- 
public thought  this  would  certainly  prevent  the 
Count  from  continuing  with  the  patriots.  They 
offered  to  restore  him  his  possessions,  release  his  two 
sons,  and  make  him  general  of  the  Corsican  troops  in 
their  service,  if  he  would  desert  the  patriot  army. 
He  answered  with  resolution  and  magnanimity, 
"  No  :  my  sons  they  shall  be  obliged  to  give  me  3 


PATRIOTISM.  95 
and  all  their  other  ofFers  I  consider  as  nothing  in 
comparison  of  the  just  enterprise  in  whicli  I  am 
engaged,  and  in  which  I  will  persevere  while  I  have 
life." 

REPUBLIC  OF  SAN  MARINO. 
When  Cardinal  Alberoni  was  Legate  of  Romagna, 
in  1740,  he  endeavoured  to  bring  the  little  republic 
of  San  Marino^  which  bordered  on  his  government, 
under  the  dominion  of  the  Pope.  The  Cardinal  had 
intrigued  so  successfully  with  some  of  the  principal 
inhabitants,  that  the  da^^  was  fixed  on  which  these 
republicans  were  to  swear  allegiance  to  the  sovereign 
under  whose  protection  they  had  put  themselves. 
On  the  day  appointed,  Alberoni  rode  up  the  moun- 
tain with  his  suite,  and  was  received  at  the  door  of 
the  principal  church  by  the  priests,  and  the  chief 
inhabitants  of  the  place.  He  was  conducted  to  his 
seat  under  a  canopy  to  hear  high  mass  and  Te  Deum 
sung;  a  ceremony  usual  in  all  catholic  countries  on 
similar  occasions.  Unluckily,  however,  for  the  views 
of  Alberoni,  the  mass  began,  as  was  usual  in  that  re- 
public, with  the  word  Libertas.  This  word  had  such  an 
effect  upon  the  minds  of  the  hearers,  who  began  then 
for  the  first  time  perhaps  to  recollect  that  they  were 
about  to  lose  the  thing  itself,  that  they  fell  upon  the 
Cardinal  and  his  attendants,  drove  them  out  of  the 
church,^  and  made  them  descend  the  very  steep 
mountain  of  Marino  with  rapidity;  after  which,  the 
Popes  left  the  inhabitants  to  their  old  form  of  govern- 
ment. 


96 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


THE  SMALLEST  REPUBLIC. 

Amid  the  various  opinions  concerning  the  different 
modes  of  government^  it  is  not  universally  known 
which  is  the  smallest  republic  in  Europe.  It  is  the 
village  of  Gerisau  in  Switzerland ,  which  is  situated  on 
the  eastern  branch  of  the  Lake  of  Schweitz,  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Kigi.  Its  territory  is  only  six  miles  in 
length  and  three  in  breadth  ;  situated  partly  on  a 
small  neck  of  land  at  the  edge  of  the  lake,  and  partly 
lying  upon  the  rapid  declivity  of  the  R-igi.  It  contains 
about  1200  inhabitants.  They  have  their  general 
assembly  of  burgesses,  their  landamman,  their  coun- 
cil of  regency,  their  courts  of  justice,  and  their  militia; 
but  there  is  not  a  single  horse  in  the  whole  territory 
of  the  republic  ;  as  indeed  riiay  well  be  supposed, 
for  the  only  way  of  arriving  at  the  town  is  by  water, 
excepting  a  narrow  path  down  the  steep  sides  of  the 
mountain,  which  is  almost  impassable.  Gerisau  is  com- 
posed entirely  of  scattered  houses  and  cottages  of  a  very 
neat  and  picturesque  appearance.  Each  dwelling  is 
provided  with  a  field  or  small  garden.  The  inhabi- 
tants are  much  employed  in  preparing  silk  for  the 
manufactures  of  Basle.  This  little  republic  is  under 
the  protection  of  the  four  cantons  of  Lucerne,  Uri» 
Schweitz,  and  Underwaldew ;  and  in  case  of  war, 
furnishes  its  quota  of  men.  To  the  ambitious  politi- 
cian, who  judges  of  governments  by  extent  of  domi- 
nion and  power,  such  a  diminutive  republic,  thrown 
into  an  obscure  corner,  and  scarcely  known  out  of 
its  own  contracted  territory,  must  appear  unworthy 
of  notice ;  but  the  smallest  spot  of  earth  on  which 


TATRIOTISM.  97 
true  civil  freedom  is  cultivated  and  flourishes,  cannot 
fail  to  interest  those  who  know  tlie  real  value  of 
libertj  and  independence,  and  are  convinced  that 
political  happiness  does  not  consist  in  great  opulence 
and  extensive  empire. 

THE  BARANGI. 
Alexius  Comnenius  meaning  to  depose  Nicephorus 
Botoniates  the  Emperor  of  Constantinople,  sent  Caesar 
Ducas  in  the  habit  of  a  monk,  to  spy  how  the  citv 
-as  defended.  He  brought  word' back,  th^  the^ 
must  take  heed  how  they  assaulted  one'  partiS 

femnr  I'h     T  ^T'u"^  ^''"'"^i.  and  that  to 

temp  them  by  bribery  was  impracticable;  "for" 
says  he  these  battJe-axe  men  adhering  firmly  to 
he  rad.tions  of  their  own  country,  think  faith  to 
tlieir  leaders,  to  be  their  portion  of  inheritance." 
itiese  i?aro«^i,  who  were  undoubtedly  Englishmen 
are  supposed  by  some  writers  to  have  fled  thei^ 
country  when  they  found  the  Normans  prevail. 

ERECTING  FORTBESSES. 
When  the  Senate  of  Genoa  proposed  to  build  a 
fortress  ,n  the  middle  of  the  city.  i„  order  to  ensure 
Its  tranquillity,  and  to  protect  the  life  of  AndreaDoria 

^Iltjl  <Ji=ti»g"i^hed  patrio; 

opposed  the  measure  very  violently,  saying,  "that 
Genoa  could  never  preserve  its  liberty  by  mere  ram- 
parts, and  by  a  garrison ;  that  it  must  owe  that 
inestimable  blessing  to  the  disinterestedness  of  the 
nobles,  and  the  obedience  of  the  people.  God 


98  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

forbid/'  he  exclaimed,  that  to  ensure  the  safety  of 
the  remainder  of  ray  life,  my  country  should  be  ren- 
dered obnoxious  to  slavery  !  This  fortress,  which 
some  of  you  wish  to  build,  will  only  contribute  one 
day  or  other  to  reduce  the  republic  to  a  state  of 
servitude." 


FREEDOM  OF  THE  PRESS. 

A  letter  appeared  in  a  newspaper,  giving  a  ludi- 
crous account  of  one  of  the  heads  of  the  Bourbon 
family  ;  upon  which,  not  only  the  Spanish  ambas- 
sador, but  all  the  ambassadors  belonging  to  that 
family,  joined  in  a  memorial  which  was  delivered  to 
Lord' Weymouth,  insisting  upon  condign  punishment 
being  inflicted  upon  the  printer,  and  even  threatening 
us  as  a  nation  if  such  satisfaction  was  refused.  To 
this  the  secretary  of  state  answered  like  a  man  of 
sense  and  spirit,  that  he  was  surprised  the  ambassadors 
could  be  so  ignorant  of  the  constitution  of  this  coun- 
try, as  not  to  know  that  it  was  out  of  the  power  of 
government  to  punish  a  printer  in  the  way  their  ex- 
cellences desired  j  that  he  was  sorry  for  the  affront 
offered  to  their  sovereign  ;  that  the  English  newspapers 
took  liberties  with  their  own  king,  and  a  foreign 
prince  had  no  great  cause  to  be  angry,  if  he  was  some- 
times treated  with  the  same  freedom,  since  the  laws 
of  the  land  were  equally  the  shelter  of  the  offen- 
ders in  both  cases.  As  to  the  threats,  he  smiled  at 
them  ;  but  added,  that  if  what  the  printers  had  done, 
could  be  construed  into  a  libel,  the  attorney- general 
should  be  spoken  to,  a  prosecution  commenced,  and 


PATRIOTISM.  90 

such  damages  adjuc^g^d,  as  a  jury  of  Englishmen 
thought  equitable,  f 

Prince  Masserano,  the  Spanish  ambassador,  was 
greatly  enraged  at  this  answer  of  Lord  Weymouth's, 
and  exclaimed,  "What,  not  punish  the  rascal  who  has 
called  the  King  of  Spain  a  fool  V  "  No,"  said  Lord 
Weymouth,  1  cannot,  for  these  very  printers  have 
said  the  same  of  our  king,  who  is  a  sensible  man  ;  and 
when  brought  to  trial  by  our  course  of  law,  they  were 
acquitted." 


GRAND  DUCHESS  OF  WEIMAR. 
When  the  battle  of  Jena  had  decided  the  fate  of 
the  North  of  Germany,  the  French  army,  headed  by 
Napoleon,  marched  on  Weimar.  The  grand  duke 
was  at  that  time  absent  with  the  army,  and  the 
duchess  only  remained  in  the  castle,  whither,  on  the 
approach  of  the  French,  the  poor  deserted  women, 
children,  and  inhabitants  of  the  town,  all  flocked  for 
safety.  The  gates  were  opened  to  them,  and  the 
grand  duchess  sheltered  and  protected  them  with  the 
kindness  of  a  mother.  On  Napoleon's  entry,  he 
summoned  her  royal  highness  to  abandon  the  castle 
and  attend  him.  She  refused,  and  an  order  for  the 
pillage  of  the  palace  and  town  was  instantly  issued. 
The  duchess  remained  firm,  and  determined,  if  pos- 
sible, to  avert  this  fate  from  her  little  capital.  Her 
efforts  were  crowned  with  success,  and  her  dignified 
firmness  even  induced  Napoleon  at  last  to  wait  on  her 
in  person.  Her  noble  deportment  and  energetic 
pleadings  wrought  upon  the  conqueror,  and  induced 
him  to  withdraw  his  cruel  order.  The  grand  duchess 
K  2 


100  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

undervvent  the  severest  hardships  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  her  admirable  purpose  ;  remaining  shut  up 
in  the  castle,  with  her  helpless  subjects,  for  several 
days,  almost  without  the  bare  necessaries  of  life» 


THE  QUAKERS. 
Notwithstanding  that  the  principles  of  the  Quakers 
will  not  allow  them  to  sanction  war,  much  less  con- 
tribute to  its  support,  unless  when  compelled,  yet  in 
the  rebellion  of  1745,  a  deputation  of  this  society 
waited  on  Sir  William  Yonge  and  Lord  Ligonier, 
with  an  offer  to  furnish,  at  their  own  expense,  to  the 
troops  employed  in  his  majesty's  service  during  the 
winter  in  the  north,  a  supply  of  woollen  waistcoats 
to  be  worn  under  their  other  clothing.  The  offer 
was  accepted. 

MR.  PITT. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1789,  when  the 
nation  was  in  a  state  of  despondency  respecting  the 
health  of  his  late  venerable  majesty,  George  the 
Third,  and  a  change  in  the  administration  was  thought 
extremely  probable,  it  occurred  to  several  gentlemen 
of  the  first  respectability  in  the  city  of  London,  that 
Mr.  Pitt,  on  quitting  office,  would  be  in  a  situation 
of  great  embarrassment,  not  only  from  some  debts 
which  he  had  unavoidably  incurred,  but  as  to  the 
means  of  liis  future  subsistence.  They  felt  the  strong 
impression,  in  which  the  nation  participated,  of  his 
great  virtues,  as  well  as  of  his  eminent  talents  ;  and 
they  were  sensible,  in  common  with  the  major  part 


PATRIOTISM,  101 
of  their  countrymen,  of  the  value  of  those  services  to 
which  his  life  had  been  hitherto  devoted,  particularly 
to  those  commercial  interests  in  which  they  were 
deeply  concerned.    Under  this  impression,  a  certain 
number  of  merchants  and  ship-owners  met,  and  re- 
solved to  raise  the  sum  of  ^100.000,  to  be  pre- 
sented to  him  as  a  free  gift— the  well-earned  reward 
of  his  meritorious  exertions  ;  each  subscriber  engaeinr. 
never  to  divulge  the  name  of  himself,  or  of  any  other 
person  contributing,  in  order  to  prevent  its  being 
known  to  any  one  except  themselves,  who  the  con- 
tributors were.    The  only  exception  to  this  engage- 
ment of  secrecy,  was  a  respectable  baronet,  who  was 
deputed  to  learn  from  a  friend  of  the  minister's  in 
what  manner  the  token  of  esteem  and  gratitude  (as 
it  was  expressed)  could  be  presented  most  acceotablv 
to  Mr.  Pitt.  ^  ^ 

Highly  flattering  as  the  offer  was,  and  seasonable 
as  the  act  would  have  been,  the  friend  applied  to 
entertained  doubts  of  Mr.  Pitt  accepting  the  prof- 
fered bounty,  and  therefore  thought  it  right  to  apprize 
him  of  the  intention.    This  occasioned  a  long  dis- 
cussion on  the  subject,  which  ended  in  Mr.  Pitt 
expressing  a  positive  and  fixed  determination  to 
decline  the  acceptance  of  this  liberal  and  generous 
offer;  a  determination  that  nothing  could  shake;  for 
when  it  was  urged  that  it  never  could  be  known  to 
liim  who  the  subscribers  were,  and  that  they  were 
men  whose  fortunes  put  them  out  of  all  probability  of 
ever  soliciting  the  smallest  favour  from  him,  his  reply 
was,  "  that  if  he  should,  at  any  future  time  of  his 
life,  return  to  office,  he  should  never  see  a  gentleman 
K  3 


102  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

from  tlie  city  without  its  occurring  to  iiim  that  he 

might  be  one  of  his  subscribers." 

This  positive  determination  was  communicated  to 
the  baronet  before  alluded  to,  which  put  an  end  to 
the  measure  ;  and  in  a  few  days  after,  Mr.  Pitt,  in 
conversing  about  his  future  plans,  remarked,  that  had 
he  lost  his  situation  in  the  ministry,  he  had  taken  a 
fixed  resolution  to  return  to  the  bar,  and  to  apply  un- 
remittingly to  that  profession,  in  order  to  extricate 
himself  from  his  difficulties,  and  to  secure,  as  far  as 
he  should  be  able,  the  means  of  future  independence. 

JUDGE  :PH1LIP. 
While  the  Seahorse  man  of  war,  then  commanded 
by  Sir  Hugh  Palliser,  was  lying  in  Leith  Roads,  a 
man,  under  indentures  as  an  apprentice,  had  been 
engaged  as  a  sailor  on  board  that  ship.  On  a  petition 
from  his  master,  and  upon  production  of  the  inden- 
tures. Judge  Philip,  of  the  High  Court  of  Admiralty, 
granted  a  warrant  to  bring  the  man  on  shore  to  be 
examined.    A  messenger  went  on  board  to  apprehend 
him,  but  was  told  by  Captain  Palliser  that  he  consi- 
dered himself  as  only  subject  to  the  Lords  of  the 
Admiralty,  and  that  he  would  not  suffer  the  man  to 
go  on  shore.    Upon  this,  the  messenger,  with  his 
blazon  upon  his  breast,  broke  his  rod  of  peace,  and 
reported  this  act  of  illegal  deforcement  to  the  Admi- 
ralty Court.     The  Judge  Philip  then  granted  a 
warrant  to  apprehend  Captain  Palliser  himself,  and 
to  commit  him  to  prison.    No  attempt  was  made  to 
execute  this  warrant  until  the  captain  came  on  shore, 
when  he  was  instantly  seized  and  imprisoned.  Next 


PATRIOTISM.  103 
'da3^  he  was  brought  into  court,  and  refused  to  submit 
to  its  jurisdiction,  asserting  that  he  held  his*  com- 
mission from  the  Board  of  Admiralty,  to  which  alone 
he  was  responsible  for  his  conduct.  He  was  therefore 
remanded  to  prison,  where  he  remained  six  weeks, 
until  the  apprentice  was  delivered  up  to  his  master. 
When  this  case  was  reported  by  the  Earl  of  Findlater, 
then  Lord  High  Admiral  of  Scotland,  to  Lord  Chan- 
cellor Hardwicke,  the  latter  remarked,  that  "he  was 
a  bold  judge  who  had  done  this,  but  that  what  lie  had 
done  was  right." 

It  is  said  to  this  day,  by  the  lovers  of  good  wine 
5n  Scotland,  who  are  not  few,  that  Sir  Hugh  Palliser 
obtained  a  severe  revenge  against  the  Scots,  on 
account  of  the  affront  he  sustained  in  this  affair. 
Before  the  union  between  England  and  Scotland, 
Erench  wines  had  been  subjected,  on  their  importation 
into  Scotland,  to  very  trifling  duties.  They  were 
therefore  imported  in  great  abundance ;  and  claret 
was  universally  used  by  persons  in  easy  circumstances. 
After  the  treaty  of  union,  and  after  what  is  called 
the  Methven  treaty  with  Portugal,  by  which  the  Por- 
tuguese wines  obtained  a  preference  in  Britain,  the 
French  wines  being  thereby  subjected  to  double 
duties,  the  British  ministry  avoided  enforcing  the 
law  in  Scotland  j  they  had  two  reasons  for  this.  la 
the  first  place,  Scotland  was  considered  as  a  poor 
country,  the  revenue  from  which  was  of  little  impor- 
tance ;  and  secondly,  they  did  net  wish  to  render  the 
union  unpopular,  by  violently  attacking,  or  attempting 
to  alter,  the  ancient  habits  of  the  people.  Accord- 
ingly they  connived  at  the  importation  to  Scotland 
of  French  wines,  under  the  name  of  Portuguese 


104  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

wiijes.    It  is  said,  however,  with  what  truth  we  know 
not,  that  Sir  Hugh  Palliser,  on  his  return  to  England, 
represented  Scotland  as  now  become  a  wealthy  and 
luxurious  country  ;  remonstrated  with  administration 
against  their  past  conduct,  in  allowing  the  revenue  to 
be  defrauded  annually  of  a  large  sum  of  money ; 
and  threatened,  that  unless  the  law  was  enforced,  he 
would  endeavour  to  bring  the  subject  before  the 
English  public.     Sir  Hugh's  remonstrances  were 
favourably  listened   to,  and  the  collectors  of  the 
revenue  in  Scotland  were  instructed  to  enforce  the 
law  relative  to  French  wines.   This  was  for  some  time 
accomplished  with  difficulty.     The  deep  bays  or 
friths  which  run  far  into  the  country  of  Scotland, 
afforded  great  opportunities  for  smuggling,  at  a  time 
when  the  British  navy  did  not  possess  that  absolute 
dominion  over  the  ocean  which  it  has  since  acquired. 
When  seizures  were  made,  the  juries  in  Exchequer, 
during  a  long  period,  would  never  confess  themselves 
able  to  distinguish  the  taste  of  French  from  that  of 
Portuguese  wanes.     Their  verdicts  were  therefore 
almost  uniformly  against  the  crown.     Nor  was  this 
spirit  absolutely  got  quit  of  till  the  early  part  of  Mr. 
Pitt's  administration,  when  the  duties  upon  wine  were 
brought  under  the  management  of  the  excise. 


PATRICK  HENRY. 

Patrick  Henry  was  the  son  of  Colonel  John  Henry, 
a  native  of  Aberdeen  in  Scctland,  and  born  at  Studley, 
in  the  county  of  Hanover  and  state  of  Virginia.  In 
his  youth  he  gave  no  signs  of  future  greatness.  No 
persuasion  could  induce  him  either  to  read  or  to  work  *, 


PATRIOIISM. 
b«t  he  ran  wild  in  the  forest,  and  divided  his  time 
fnaZn".  ""^  the  langour  J 

He  married  at  eighteen;  he  was  for  some  time 
talffr^'  into  mercantile  mder! 

^  ?'"/'^'*y^''"^^"^«^^«dhim  a  bank- 
rupt and  reduced  him  to  a  state  of  wretchedness. 
He  now  determined  to  trj  the  bar.  About  this  timl 
he  famous  contest  between  the  clergy  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  legislature  and  the  peoplfof  Vir!  nia  o„ 
.  the  other  concerning  the  stipends  of  the  former"took 
place  ;  and  he  exhibited  such  displays  of  eloquence 
>n  "  the  parsons' cause,"  as  it  wL  "tenned  a^rew 
the  admiration  of  all  his  fellow  citizens.    His  exerUons 

^ChlZ^Z't'-  "  ""^^P^"'^^'  -  i-tantaneou" 
Sature.''  WeHation  of    The  Orator 

When  the  question  first  came  to  be  agitated  con 
cernmg  the  right  of  the  British  parliamen  to  tT- 
Amenca,  he  gave,  as  has  been  trul/ remarked  «'  he 
first  .mpulse  to  the  ball  of  the  revolution."  who 
r'T'  '^'^'-g-^hed  for  intpidlS 
and  decision,  hung  back,  unwilling  to  submit  ve^ 
afraid  to  speak  out  in  the  language  of  bold  and  open 
defiance.  In  this  hour  of  despondency.-suspense  and 
sXsTr'  """'^  chee'r'the'drro'plg 

ene  Is  0?  th^A  '° 

energies  of  the  Americans  to  contend  for  their  free 

dom.    When  the  Honse  of  Burgesses  was  wSfn 

three  days  of  its  expected  close,  ntnry  prodded  and 

«^eme  of  taxing  America  by  the  BriUsh  parliament. 


106  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

In  1774,  he  appeared  in  the  venerable  body  of  the 
old  continental  congress  of  the  United  States,  when  it 
met  for  the  first  time.    Henry  broke  the  silence  which 
for  awhile  overawed  the  minds  of  all  present,  and  as  he 
advanced,  rose  with  the  magnitude  and  importance  of 
the  subject,  to  the  noblest  displays  of  argument  and 
of  eloquence.    "  This,"  said  he,  "  is  not  the  time 
for  ceremony,  the  question  before  the  house  is  one  of 
awful  moment  to  this  country.    It  is  nothing  less 
than  freedom  or  slavery.    If  we  wish  to  be  free,  we 
must  fight — I  repeat  it,  sir,  we  must  fight  I  an  appeal 
to  arms  and  to  the  God  of  hosts,  is  all  that  is  left 
us.'*    "  It  is  in  vain,  sir,  to  extenuate  the  matter. 
Gentlemen  may  cry,  peace  !  peace  !  but  there  is  no 
peace.    The  war  is  actually  begun.    The  next  gale 
that  sweeps  from  the  north,  will  bring  to  our  ears  the 
clash  of  resounding  arms  ;  our  brethren  are  already 
in  the  field  !  why  stand  we  here  idle  ?    What  is  it 
that  gentlemen  wish  ?    What  would  they  have  ?  Is 
life  so  dear,  and  peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at 
the  price  of  chains  and  slavery  ?  Forbid  it,  Almighty 
God !  I  know  not  what  course  others  may  take,  but 
as  for  me,"  cried  he,  with  both  his  arms  extended  aloft, 
his  brows  knit,  every  feature  marked  with  the  resolute 
purpose  of  his  soul,  and  his  voice  swelled  to  its 
boldest  note  of  exclamation,  '*give  me  liberty,  or 
give  me  death!"    He  took  his  seat,  and  the  cry  " to 
arms!"  seemed  to  quiver  upon  every  lip,  and  gleam 
from  every  eye. 

Henry  lived  to  witness  the  glorious  issue  of  that 
revolution  which  his  genius  had  set  in  motion  j  and, 
to  use  his  own  prophetic  language  before  the  com- 
mencement of  the  revolution,  "  to  see  America  take 
her  station  amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth." 


PATRIOTISM. 


107 


SAMUEL  ADAMS. 
A  meeting  was  called  in  Boston,  in  consequence  of 
some  new  inroads  upon  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the 
people.  Adams,  who  sat  silent,  listening  to  all  their 
violent  harangues,  at  lastrose,  and  after  a  few  remarks, 
concluded  with  saying:  Grecian  philosopher, 

who  was  lying  asleep  upon  the  grass,  was  roused  by 
the  bite  of  some  animal  upon  the  palm  of  his  hand. 
He  closed  his.  hand  suddenly,  as  he  awoke,  and  found 
that  he  had  caught  a  field  mouse.    As  he  was  exa- 
mining the  little  animal  who  dared  to  attack  him,  it 
unexpectedly  bit  him  a  second  time ;  he  dropped  it,  and 
it  made  its  escape.    Now,  fellow  citizens,  what  think 
you  was  the  reflection  he  made  upon  this  trifling  cir- 
cumstance? It  was  this:  that  there  is  no  animal,  how- 
ever weak  and  contemptible,  which  cannot  defend  its 
own  liberty,  if  it  will  on]y fght  for  it.''  The  cause  of 
American  independence  owed  much  to  the  zeal  and 
intrepidity  of  this  individual.  In  comparison  with  the 
politicians  of  expediency  and  intrigue,  his  love  of 
liberty,  his  sincerity,  his  honesty,  and  his  consistency 
of  character,  raised  him  into  true  dignity.  Compared 
with  those  who  have  governed  empires  and  swayed  the 
fate  of  nations,  but  whose  history  is  tarnished  bv  cor- 
ruption and  venality,  the  memory  of  this  humble  patriot 
is  enrolled  among  the  defenders  of  his  country,  and 
repeated  with  gratitude  and  respect  by  the  meanest 
citizen  of  that  state  which  he  contributed  to  render 
free. 


108 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


BOSCAWEN. 

Adtoiral  Boscawen  was  little  infected  with  the 
spirit  of  party  which  at  his  time  prevailed  in  the 
navy,  to  the  injury  of  the  country,  and  the  reproach 
of  the  profession.  When  on  his  return  from  some 
expedition,  he  found  his  friends  out  of  place,  and 
another  administration  appointed,  he  was  asked 
whether  he  would  continue  as  a  Lord  of  the  Admiralty 
with  them  ?  he  replied  very  nobly  :  "  The  country 
has  a  right  to  the  services  of  its  professional  men ; 
and  should  I  be  sent  again  upon  any  expedition,  ray 
situation  at  the  Admiralty  will  facilitate  the  equip- 
ment of  the  fleet  I  am  to  command.'* 


EARL  OF  CHATHAM. 

On  certain  occasions.  Lord  Chathath  not  only  op- 
posed the  opinions  of  his  brethren  in  office,  but 
had  the  courage  and  integrity  to  oppose  the  preju- 
dices of  his  sovereign,  when  he  thought  them  ini- 
mical to  the  interests  of  the  country.  An  instance 
of  this  occurred  in  the  case  of  General  Wolfe,  when 
he  appointed  him  to  command  at  the  siege  of 
Quebec.  Lord  Chatham  gave  to  the  general,  the 
appointment  of  all  his  officers ;  and  the  list  which 
Wolfe  presented,  included  the  name  of  a  gentleman 
who  was  obnoxious  to  his  sovereign,  George  the 
Second,  on  account  of  some  advice  which,  as  a 
military  man,  he  had  given  to  his  son,  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland.  Lord  Ligonier,  then  commander-in- 
chief,  took  the  list  to  the  king,  who,  as  was  expected,^ 


PATRIOTISM.  t09 

made  some  objections  to  a  particular  name,  and  re- 
fused to  sign  the  commission.  Lord  Chatham  sent 
him  into  the  closet  a  second  time,  with  no  better  suc- 
cess. Lord  Ligonier  refused  to  go  in  the  third  time  ; 
at  Lord  Chatham's  suggestion,  he  was,  however,  told' 
that  he  should  lose  liis  place  if  he  did  not  j  and  that, 
on  his  presenting  the  name  to  his  sovereign,  he  should 
tell  him  the  peculiar  state  of  the  expedition,  and  that 
m  order  to  make  any  general  completely  responsible 
for  Ins  conduct,  he  should  be  made,  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, inexcusable,  if  he  did  not  succeed  ;  and  that  in 
consequence,  whatever  an  officer,  who  was  entrusted 
with  any  service  of  confidence  and  of  consequence 
required,  should,  if  possible,  be  complied  with. 
Lord  Ligonier  went  in  a  third  time,  and  told  his 
sovereign  what  Lord  Chatham  had  requested  him  to 
say.  The  good  sense  of  the  monarch  so  completely 
disarmed  his  prejudice,  that  he  signed  the  commis- 
sion as  he  was  desired. 


JOHN  LEWIS. 
During  the  reign  of  his  late  majesty,  the  footway 
through  Richmond  Park  to  Wimbledon,  East  Sheen, 
and  Kingston,  was  shut  up  by  order  of  the  ranger, 
and  no  passage  allowed  without  a  ticket.  Th^'s 
encroachment  would  probably  have  been  submitted 
to  but  for  the  patriotic  courage  of  Mr.  John  Lewis, 
ot  Kichmond,  one  of  those 

— --  "  Village  Hampdens  that  with  dauntless  hieast 
Ihe  httle  tyrants  of  their  fields  withstood.'^ 

Lewis  took  a  friend  witli  Inm  to  the  spot ;  waited 

L 


tlG  PERCY  ANECD0TES. 

for  the  opportunity  of  a  carriage  passing  through; 
and  when  the  door-keeper  was  shutting  the  gates,  in- 
terposed, and  offered  to  go  in.  "Where  is  your 
ticket  ?"  said  the  keeper.  "  What  occasion  is  there 
for  a  ticket?  any  body  may  pass  through  here,"  said 
Lewis.  "  Not  without  a  ticket,"  replied  the  keeper. 
"  Yes  they  may,  and  I  will,"  said  Lewis.  The 
keeper  resisted,  and  shut  the  gate  5  on  which  Lewis 
brought  his  action,  which  was  tried  at  the  Surrey 
Assizes,  before  Sir  Michael  Foster,  when  Lewis  ob- 
tained a  decree  in  his  favour.  When  the  right  of  the 
footpath  had  been  established,  Lewis  was  asked 
whether  he  would  have  a  door  or  a  step  ladder; 
he  chose  the  latter,  but  in  mere  spite,  the  steps  of  it 
were  set  at  such  a  distance  as  rendered  it  almost 
useless. 

When  the  same  judge  happened  to  go  the  Home 
Circuit,  Lewis  again  complained  to  the  court.  "  My 
lord,"  says  he,  "  the^  have  left  such  a  space  between 
the  steps  of  the  ladder,  that  children  and  old  men  are 
unable  to  get  up  it."  "  I  have  observed  it  myself," 
said  this  honest  judge,  "  and  I  desire,  Mr.  Lewis,  that 
you  will  see  it  so  constructed,  that  not  only  children 
and  old  men,  but  old  women  too,  may  be  able  to 
get  up." 

A  few  years  afterwards,  the  king  wished  to  obtain 
possession  of  a  narrow  lane  of  great  length,  which 
separated  Richmond  and  Kew  Garden,  and  led  a 
shorter  way  from  Richmond  to  Kew  and  Brentford 
Ferry.  As  it  was  intended  to  get  the  consent  of  the 
parishioners  to  the  measure,  the  queen's  steward  "made 
a  great  dinner  and  invited  many,"  and  among  the  rest, 
John  Lewis.     Knowing  himself  to  be  somewhat 


S'ATRIOTISM.  Ill 

obnoxious  to  the  court  and  its  retainers,  Lewis  at 
first  refused  the  invitation,  but  at  length  determined 
to  go. 

The  bottle  was  freely  circulated  amidst  a  profusion 
of  the  luxuries  of  the  season.     Lewis,  however, 
determined  to  keep  possession  of  his  sober  faculties, 
and  was  on  his  guard  accordingly.    Late  in  the 
evening,  when  most  of  the  company  had  departed, 
tlie  steward  got  up,  and  expatiating  on  the  bene- 
volence and  amiable  qualities  of  the  queen,  who  was 
lady  of  the  manor,  declared  how  infinitely  she  would 
be  obliged  to  the  inhabitants  of  P^ichmond,  for  giving 
up  the  road  in  question ;  but  that  if  it  was  disa- 
greeable to  a  single  inhabitant  of  the  place,  she  did 
not  wish  the  surrender  to  be  made.    "1  am  that 
individual,"  said  Mr.  Lewis  to  the  steward;  **and 
with  as  much  respect  for  her  majesty  as  you  or  any 
man  can  entertain,  I  do  not  feel  myself  at  liberty  to 
compliment  the  queen  with  the  privileges  and  advan- 
tages of  my  townsmen  and  their  posterity.  Their 
rights  are  sacred  ;  and  neither  in  our  disposal,  nor  in 
that  of  others.    We  are  in  our  day,  the  guardians  of  a 
trust  committed  to  us  by  our  forefathers  ;  and  we  are 
guilty  of  infidelity  and  fraud,  if  these  trusts  do  not 
pass  unimpaired  through  our  hands  into  the  possession 
of  our  children." 

The  design  was  given  up  at  that  time ;  but  an  act 
of  parliament  a  few  years  after,  alienated  that  right 
which  John  Lewis  would  never  have  relinquished. 


L  2 


✓  112 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


ADxMlRAL  RODNEY. 

When  Sir  George  RodneJ'  resided  in  France,  to 
avoid  his  creditors,  his  distress  became  a  subject  of 
public  notoriety.  It  had  long  been  suspected  by 
M.  de  Sartine,  the  minister  of  Police,  who  was  no 
stranger  to  his  merits ;  he  accordingly  communicated 
his  ideas  to  the  Dae  de  Biron,  and  persuaded  him 
to  make  the  admiral  an  offer  of  the  command  of  the 
French  fleet  in  the  West  Indies ;  and  also  to  proffer 
a  very  liberal  supply  of  money,  to  enable  him  to  dis- 
charge his  pecuniary  embarrassments. 

In  order  to  accomplish  this  infamous  design  with 
greater  ease,  the  duke  immediately  sent  a  very  civil 
invitation  to  Sir  George,  to  spend  some  weeks  at  his 
house  5  which  he  accepted.  One  morning,  during  a 
walk  in  the  gardens,  the  duke,  with  great  caution 
and  politeness,  sounded  the  admiral  on  the  subject ; 
but  so  far  was  the  ingenuous  mind  of  Sir  George  from 
suspecting  what  so  strange  a  conversation  could  lead 
to,  that  he  at  length  imagined  the  duke  must  be  de- 
ranged, and  in  consequence  began  to  regard  him 
with  pity.  The  duke  mistaking  Sir  George's  conduct, 
came  at  once  to  the  point,  and  openly  declared  to 
him,  "  that  as  the  king,  his  royal  master,  intended 
the  West  Indies  shoula  become  the  theatre  of  the 
t  ^'present  war,  he  was  commissioned  to  make  the  most 
unbounded  offers  to  Sir  George,  if  he  would  quit  the 
English  service,  and  accept  the  command  of  a  French 
squadron." 

The  brave  admiral,  with  great  temper,  though  much 
agitated,  instantly  replied  :  "  My  distresses,  sir,  it  is 


PATRIOTISM. 


113 


true,  iiave  driven  me  from  tlie  bosom  of  my  country 
but  no  temptation  \vlialcver  can  estrange  me  from  lie? 
service.  Had  this  offer  been  a  voluntary  one  of  your 
own,  I  should  have  deehied  it  an  insult ;  but  I  am 
glad  to  learn  it  proceeds  from  a  source  that  can  do  no 
wrong.'' ^ 

The  Due  de  Biron,  struck  with  the  patriotic  virtue 
of  the  British  tar,  from  that  time  became  his  sincere 
friend,  and  enabled  Sir  George  to  return  to  his  native 
country,  ^dlere  he  solicited  and  obtained  an  important 
command. 


THE  RUSSIANS. 

The  last  war  in  Russia  incontestibly  proved,  that 
extraordinary'  efforts  of  patriotism,  under  a  despotic 
government,  do  not  always  proceed  from  despotic 
measures ;  and  that  the  system  of  slavery  to  which 
the  Russian  peasant  is  subject,  is  not  such  as  to 
extinguish  all  love  of  his  country. 

The  Carthaginian  matrons  have  been  celebrated 
for  the  sacrifice  of  their  hair  for  the  defence  of  their 
city,  when  attacked  by  the  Romans ;  the  patriotism 
of  all  ranks  in  Russia,  during  the  invasion  by  the 
French  in  1812,  was  exhibited  in  an  equal,  though 
more  efficient,  manner.  Voluntary  offers  of  men 
and  money,  and  of  whatever  might  assist  the  prose- 
cution of  the  war,  were  presented  to  the  emperor 
from  every  quarter,  and  with  an  earnestness  that 
would  not  be  denied.  **The  grand  duchess,  his  sister, 
set  the  example,  by  offering  to  raise  a  regiment  on 
her  estates,  to  combat  the  powerful  adventurer  who 
had  solicited  her  hand.   The  imperial  city  of  Moscow 


PERCY  ANECDOTES, 
magmficently  proposed  to  arm  and  equip  80,000 
men.  The  veteran  PlatofF,  whose  blood  had  been  so 
often  shed  in  defence  of  Russia  on  former  occasions, 
now  showed  his  ardour  for  the  cause  in  which  he  was 
engaged,  by  promising  his  daughter  and  200,000 
roubles  to  the  hero  wlio  should  rid  the  world  of  the 
invader ;  and  frequent  instances  occurred  of  youno' 
men  of  fortune,  who  were  content  to  serve  as  subt 
alterns  m  the  corps  which  they  had  raised,  and  to 
yield  the  command  to  abler  officers.  Nor  was  this 
enthusiasm  confined  to  the  higher  orders;  the  pea- 
santry flocked  from  all  quarters,  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  general  permission  to  enlist  in  the  army.  The 
success  of  the  English  in  the  Peninsula  had-reached 
their  ears,  and  they  were  often  heard  to  exclaim 
"  What,  shall  a  small  state  like  Portugal  succeed  in 
expelling  the  French,  with  the  assistance  of  England- 
and  shall  Russia  not  revenge  the  blood  of  those  who' 
fell  at  Eylau  and  Friedland  ?" 

But  the  most  extraordinary  instance  of  activity 
was  shown  in  the  creation  of  a  galley  fleet,  for  the 
purpose  of  transporting  a  body  of  15,000  men  from 
Emland  to  the  relief  of  Riga.  Within  the  short 
space  of  six  weeks,  above  a  hundred  gun  boats  were 
built  and  equipped,  and  sailed  to  fulfil  the  object  for 
which  they  were  intended. 

History  does  not  present  to  us,  replete  as  it  is  with 
scenes  of  blood  and  slaughter,  any  event  more 
strikingly  tremendous  than  the  conflagration  of 
Moscow;  or  any  instance  of  resolution  and  patriot- 
ism more  strongly  exemplified,  than  in  the  conduct 
of  the  governor  and  inhabitants  of  this  great  city,  at 
this  critical  period.    When  Moscow  had  been  laid 


J 


PATRIOTISM.  115 

in  ashes  by  an  act  of  noble  patriotic  devotion,  Ros- 
topchin,  the  governor,  wilii  his  forces,  retreated.  His 
country  palace,  situated  at  Voronovo,  a  short  distance 
from  Moscow,  was  the  only  asylum  which  remained 
to  him ;  but  on  the  approach  of  the  French,  he  set 
fire  to  it  with  his  own  hands,  leaving  the  following 
letter  to  the  enemy,  on  the  occasion,  which  strongly 
marks  his  character. — "  I  have  for  eight  years  embel- 
lished this  country  house,  and  I  have  lived  happy  in 
it  in  the  bosom  of  my  family.  The  inhabitants  of 
this  estate,  to  the  number  of  1720,  quit  it  at  your 
approach ;  and  I  set  fire  to  my  house,  that  it  may 
not  be  polluted  by  your  presence.  Frenchmen,  I 
have  abandoned  to  you  my  two  Moscow  houses, 
worth  half  a  million  of  roubles ;  liere  you  will  only 
find  ashes. 

(Signed)  count  tedor  rostopchin.'" 

His  example  stimulated  the  peasants  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood to  unheard  of  sacrifices  ;  and  they  were 
seen  in  all  directions,  on  the  approach^of  the  enemy 
setting  fire  to  the  faggots  which  they  had  previously 
placed  against  their  houses.  When  Bonaparte  found 
that  they  could  not  be  induced  by  coercive  measures 
to  brmg  in  forage  for  his  troops,  he  endeavoured  to 
engage  them  by  promises  of  payment.  In  some 
mstances,  the  villagers  alFected  to  consent,  and  then 
fell  upon  the  parties  sent  to  receive  the  provision^. 
Such  determined  resistance  could  not  fail  to  provoke 
the  barbarity  of  the  French ;  and  all  the  cruelties  of 
wnich  the  Buccaneers  have  been  accused,  were  exer- 
cised against  the  villagers  who  fell  into  their  power. 

Several  attempts  were  made  to  enlist  the  prisoners 


116  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

brouglit  in  on  these  occasions  into  the  French  service* 
One  intrepid  fellow,  whose  hand  had  been  marked 
with  the  name  of  Napoleon,  seized  the  hatchet  which 
was  stuck  in  his  belt,  and  chopped  off  his  arm, 
declaring  it  should  never  wield  a  weapon  against  his 
country.  Twelve  of  Count  Woronzoff's  peasants  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  French,  and  Bonaparte  gave 
them  their  choice,  either  to  enter  into  liis  array,  or  to 
be  put  to  death  in  the  course  of  an  hour.  They  all 
refused  to  enter ;  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  hour, 
he  repeated  his  offer,  upon  which  the  first  four  crossed 
themselves,  and  submitted  to  their  fate ;  after  such  a 
proof  of  the  total  inefficacy  of  compulsory  measures, 
the  officer,  ashamed  of  the  infamous  task  entrusted  to 
l\im,  permitted  the  rest  to  escape. 

ANDREA  DORIA. 
Andrea  Doria  was  one  of  the  greatest  naval  com- 
manders, and  one  of  the  truest  patriots,  that  the 
republic  of  Genoa  could  ever  boast.  He  was  in  the  ser- 
vice of  France ;  but  when  he  found  that  Francis  the  First 
had  some  designs  upon  the  prosperity  and  freedom  of 
Genoa,  by  repairing  the  fortifications,  and  adding  a 
citadel  to  the  city  of  Savona,  he  addressed  him  in  the 
following  letter.  "  Great  prince :  he  who  makes  use  of 
the  power  heaven  has  put  into  his  hands,  to  reverse 
the  common  order  of  human  affairs,  employs  it  to  a 
very  bad  purpose.  The  city  of  Genoa  has  always 
been  the  capital  of  Liguiia ;  and  posterity  will  not 
behold  without  astonishment,  that  your  majest^'^  has 
deprived  it  of  that  advantage  without  any  reason. 
The  Genoese  perceive  how  your  projects  are  likely 


PATRIOTISM.  1]7 
to  affect  their  interests.  They  entreat  you  to  give 
them  up,  and  not  to  suffer  the  general  "good  to  be 
sacrificed  to  the  interests  of  a  few  of  your  courtiers. 
I  take  the  liberty  to  join  ray  entreaties  to  those  of 
my  countrymen,  and  to  request  this  of  you,  as  the 
reward  of  the  services  I  have  been  abli  to  render 
France.  If  circumstances  lay  your  majesty  under 
the  necessity  of  wanting  money,  1  will,  in  addition  to 
the  appointments  which  are  due  to  me  from  your 
majesty,  present  you  with  four  score  thousand  gold 
crowns.'' 

Francis  returning  no  answer  to  this  letter,  and 
Doria  perceiving  that  the  fortiiications  were  still  going 
on,  told  Trivuici,  that  the  republic  of  Genoa  would 
submit  to  any  thing,  .sooner  than  see  Savona  torn 
from  their  dominions  adding,  "  with  respect  to 
myself,  I  shall  sacrifice  the  friendship  of  a  King  of 
France  to  the  interests  of  my  country.  Pray  tell  this 
to  3^our  sovereign  as  sooij  as  you  can,  and  assure  him, 
that  it  is  not  a  desire  of  gain  which  makes  me  act 
thus ;  it  is  an  honest  indignation  at  observing,  that 
the  prayers  I  made  to  him  in  favour  of  my  injured 
country,  which  he  is  taking  pains  to  oppress,  do  not 
meet  with  that  attention  to  which  they  are  entitled/' 

Francis  now  ordered  Doria  to  be  seized  in  the  port 
of  Genoa,  and  brought  prisoner  to  France  ;  but  he 
escaped  with  his  vessels,  and  returned  soon  after  to 
Genoa. 

The  highest  ambition  of  Doria,  on  returning  to  his 
native  country,  was  to  deliver  it  from  a  foreign  yoke, 
and  a  favourable  opportunity  occurred.  Afflicted  by 
the  pestilence,  the  city  of  Genoa  was  almost  deserted 
by  its  inhabitants ;  the  French  garrison  being  neither 


riS  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

regularly  paid  nor  recruited,  was  reduced  to  ah  in- 
considerable number.  Doria's  emissaries  found  that 
such  of  the  citizens  who  remained,  were  alike  weary 
of  the  French  and  the  imperial  yoke,  the  rigour  of  which 
they  had  alternately  experienced  ;  they  were  ready 
to  welcome  him  as  their  deliverer,  and  to  second  all 
his  measures.  Things  wearing  this  promising  aspect, 
he  sailed  towards  Genoa ;  on  his  approach,  the 
French  gallies  retired  ;  a  small  body  of  men  which  he 
landed,  surprised  one  of  the  gates  of  Genoa  in  the 
night  time ;  the  French  governor,  with  his  feeble  gar- 
rison, shut  himself  up  in  the  citadel,  and  Doria  took 
possession  of  the  town  without  resistance,  or  the 
shedding  of  blood.  Want  of  provisions  soon  con- 
strained Trivulci,  the  French  governor,  to  capitulate  ; 
the  people,  eager  to  abolish  this  monument  of  their 
servitude,  ran  together  with  a  tumultuous  violence, 
and  levelled  the  citadel  with  the  ground. 

It  was  now  in  the  power  of  Doria  to  have  rendered 
himself  the  sovereign  of  his  country,  which  he  had 
liberated  fiom  oppression.  The  fame  of  his  former 
actions,  the  success  of  his  present  attempt,  the  at- 
tachment of  his  ftiendsj  the  giatitude  of  his  country- 
men, together  wiih  the  support  of  the  emperor,  all 
conspired  to  secure  him  success,  and  to  invite  him  to 
a  throne.  But  with  a  magnanimity  of  which  there  are 
but  few  examples,  he  sacrificed  all  thoughts  of  aggran- 
dizing to  himself  the  virtuous  satisfaction  of  esta- 
blishing liberty  in  his  country.  Having  assembled 
the  whole  body  of  the  people  in  the  court  before  his 
palace,  he  assured  them  that  the  happiness  of  seeing 
them  once  more  in  possession  of  their  freedom,  was 
to  him  a  full  reward  for  all  his  services  j  that  more 


PATRIOTISM.  1J9 
delighted  with  the  name  of  citizen  than  of  sovereign, 
be  claimed  no  pre-eminence  or  j3ower  above  his  equals  p 
but  remitted  entirely  to  them  the  right  of  settling 
what  form  of  government  they  would  now  choose  to 
be  established  among  tliem.     The  people  listened 
to  him  with  admiration  and  joy.    Twelve  persons 
were  elected  to  new  model  the  constitution  of  the 
republic.    The  influence  of  Doria's  virtues  and  ex- 
ample communicated  itself  to  his  countrymen  ;  the 
factions  which  had  long  torn  and  ruined  the  sta(e, 
seemed  to  be  fjrgottenj  prudent  precautions  were 
taken  to  prevent  their  reviving  ;  and  the  same  form 
of  governme;it  which  has  subsisted  with  little  vari- 
ation since  that  time  in  Genoa,  was  established  with 
universal  applause.     Doria  having  soon  put  an  end 
to  the  divisions  of  his  fellow  citizens,  and  driven 
away  the  foreign  enemy  which  menaced  their  destruc- 
tion, he  was  by  public  acclamation  declared  perpetual 
Doge  of  the  Republic.   This  distinction  he,  however, 
refused,  telling  tlie  people  that  it  was  more  honour- 
able for  him  to  be  thought  worthy  of  such  a  distinc- 
tion by  his  fellow  citizens,  than  actually  to  possess 
it ;  that  he  begged  to  be  permitted  to  be  subservient 
to  the  laws  of  his  country,  like  any  other  subject  of  it. 
The  senate,  astonished  at  his  noble  modesty,  and  at 
his  attachment  to  the  republic,  passed  a  decree, 
which  declared  him     The  Father  and  Deliverer  of 
his  Country      erected  a  statue  to  him  in  the  midst 
of  the  great  square  of  Genoa ;    built  for  him  a 
palace  in  the  same  place,  which  was  to  be  called  by 
his  name ;  ordained  that  lie  and  his  posterity  should 
be  exempt  from  imposts  of  all  kinds  ;  and  that  these 
decrees  should   be  engraven  on  a  plate  of  brass, 


120  PERCY  ANFXDOTES. 

appended  to  the  walls  of  his  palace,  as  a  raemoriai 
of  the  services  he  had  done  his  country,  and  of  the 
gratitude  of  that  coantiy  towards  hini. 


THE  PATRIOTIC  BROTHERS.  j 
When  the  war  between  the  Carthaginians  and  the 
inhabitants  of  Cyrene  on  the  limits  of  their  terri- 
tories, had  reduced  both  nations  very  low,  they  ] 
agreed  that  each  state  should  appoint  two  commis- 
sioners, who  should  set  out  from  their  respective 
cities  on  the  same  day,  and  that  the  spot  on  which 
they  met  should  be  the  boundary  of  both  states.  In 
consequence  of  this,  two  brothers,  called  Philaeni, 
were  sent  out  from  Carthage,  who  advanced  with 
great  celerity  ;  while  those  from  Cyrene  were  much 
slower  in  their  motions.  Whether  this  proceeded 
from  accident,  design,  or  perfidy,  is  unknown ;  but 
the  Cyreneans  finding  themselves  so  far  outstripped 
by  the  Philseni,  accused  them  of  breach  of  faith, 
asserting  that  the}^  had  set  out  before  the  time  ap- 
pointed, and  consequently  that  the  terms  of  the 
convention  were  broken. 

The  Philseni  denied  the  charge,  and  desired  them 
to  propose  some  expedient  whereby  their  differences 
might  be  accommodated,  promising  to  submit  to  it, 
whatever  it  might  be.  The  Cyreneans  then  proposed, 
either  that  the  Philaeni  should  retire  from  the  place  ■ 
where  they  then  were,  or  that  they  should  be  buried 
alive  upon  the  spot.  With  this  last  condition  the 
brothers  immediately  complied,  and  by  their  death 
gained  a  large  extent  of  territory  to  their  countrj^. 
The  Carthaginians  ever  after  celebrated  this  as  a 


PATRIOTISM.  121 
most  brave  and  heroic  action;  paid  them  divine 
honours;  and  endeavoured  to  immortalize  their  names 
by  erecting  two  altars  there,  with  suitable  inscriptions 
upon  them. 


THE  FRENCH. 

The  invincible  attachment  which  the  French  bear 
to  their  country,  is  one  of  the  best  features  in  their 
national  character.  No  distance,  no  time,  no  wrongs, 
can  diminish  it.  Wherever  they  may  be  placed,  the 
honour  and  interests  of  their  country  are  paramount 
to  all  selfish  considerations. 

Whatever  injuries  the  French  may  have  sustained, 
though  their  property  should  have  been  confiscated,' 
their  families  butchered,  and  themselves  proscribed, 
we  have  seen  that  the  honour  of  France  was  still 
dear  to  them;  insomuch,  that  for  this  cause  the  emi- 
grants were  often  known  to  rejoice  at  victories  which 
prolonged  the  time  of  their  exile,  and  seemed  to 
render  it  perpetual. 


SIEGE  OF  NOVOGOROD. 
At  the  time  that  Russia  had  as  many  enemies  as 
she  could  number  neighbours,  all  of  whom  seemed 
to  strive  which  could  do  her  the  greatest  injurv, 
Charles  IX.  King  of  Sweden,  laid  siege  to  Novo- 
gorod.  The  Swedes  got  possession  of  the  city 
through  ^the  negligence  of  the  inhabitants.  A  chief 
of  the  Strelitz,  or  shooters,  with  four  of  his  com- 
panions and  forty  Cossacks,  nobly  sacrificed  them- 
selves in  defending  the  town.    The  curate  of  St. 

M 


i22  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

Sophia  shut  himself  up  in  his  house  with  a  few  friends, 
who  animated  by  his  courage,  fired  on  the  enemy, 
and  killed  numbers  of  them;  and  at  last  suffered 
themselves  to  be  burnt  in  the  house,  rather  than  yield, 
determined  that  as  they  could  not  deliver  their 
country  from  a  foreign  yoke,  they  would  nut  survive 
its  independence. 


GENERAL  PUTNAM. 
When  the  intelligence  of  the  battle  of  Lexington, 
which  took  place  on  the  19th  of  April,  1775,  reached 
General  Putnam,  he  was  engaged  in  ploughing  on 
his  farm  at  Brooklyn,  in  Connecticut.  He  instantly 
unyoked  his  cattle,  left  his  plough  standing  in  the 
unfinished  furrow  in  the  midst  of  the  field,  and  with- 
out stopping  to  change  his  dress,  immediately  set  off 
for  the  scene  of  military  transactions  in  the  vicinity 
of  Boston.  Upon  entering  the  army,  he  was  appointed 
to  the  rank  of  major-general.  On  the  conclusion  of 
the  war.  General  Washington  wrote  a  letter  to  General 
Putnam,  in  which  he  warmly  expressed  the  sense  he 
entertained  of  his  services.  "  The  name  of  Putnam,'* 
says  he,  "  is  not  forgotten ;  nor  will  it  be,  but  with 
that  stroke  of  time  which  shall  obliterate  from  my 
mind  the  remembrance  of  all  those  toils  and  fatigues 
through  which  we  have  struggled  for  the  preservation 
and  establishment  of  the  rights,  liberties,  and  inde- 
pendence of  our  country." 


BRAVE  CITIZEN. 
The  noble  enterprise  undertaken  by  a  simple 
burgess  of  Nijni  Novogorod  to  save  his  country,  is 
worthy  of  the  highest  praise.    This  brave  patriot^, 


PATRIOTISM.  123 
whose  name  was  Kozma  Miniii,  was  a  butcher  by 
trade.  He  assembled  his  fellow  citizens,  and  exhorted 
them  to  sacrifice  their  fortunes;  sell  their  houses, 
clothes,  and  furniture  ;  and  even  to  pledge  their 
Mixes  and  children,  if  necessary,  to  raise  money  for 
the  troops,  and  to  place  an  intrepid  general  at  their 
head.  His  enthusiasm  fired  all  hearts  ;  money  was 
raised  for  the  troops,  the  appropriation  of  which  was 
confided  to  Minin  ;  andPojarski,  distinguished  by  his 
military  exploits,  was  requested  to  take  the  command 
of  the  troops  which  they  had  undertaken  to  pay. 

At  the  news  of  this  magnanimous  design,  the  neigh- 
bouring cities  were  seized  with  an  equal  ambition  of 
sharing  in  the  honour  of  delivering  the  empire.  Their 
zeal  was  crowned  with  success.  As  they  advanced, 
the  number  of  the  combatants  increased  ;  and  Minin 
and  Pojarski,  after  being  victorious  in  several  battles, 
succeeded  in  driving  out  the  Poles,  reconquered 
Moscow,  and  rescued  their  country. 


THE  SULIOTS. 

Patriotism  more  ardent,  or  bravery  more  de- 
termined, was  never  displayed  by  any  people,  than  by 
the  Suliols  in  resisting  the  power  of  Ali  Pasha. 
[See  Anecdotes  of  War.']  One  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  the  Suliot  chiefs,  was  Captain  Tzavella, 
who  under  pretence  of  a  negociation,  was  with  fifty 
of  his  brave  countrymen  treacherously  ensnared,  and 
all  of  them  bound  except  three.  Two  of  these 
snatching  up  their  weapons,  fought  desperately  till 
they  fell  covered  with  wounds  ;  whilst  the  other  man, 


124  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

remarkably  swift  of  foot,  made  his  escape,  unhurt 
by  a  thousand  shots  that  were  fired  after  him,  swam 
over  the  river  Kahamas,  and  directing  his  course  to 
Suh,  arrived  in  time  to  put  his  countrymen  upon  their 
guard  against  the  insidious  enemy.  The  next  day  Ali 
appeared  in  their  district  with  his  whole  army,  and 
havmg  ordered  Captain  Tzavella  to  be  brought  into 
his  presence,  he  promised  him  the  most  ample  rewards 
upon  condition  of  his  procuring  the  submission  of 
the  republic,  with  the  horrible  alternative  of  being 
iiayed  alive,  if  his  fellow-citizens  continued  obstinate 
m  their  opposition.  "  Release  me  from  my  fetters, 
then,''  said  Tzavella,  "  for  my  countrymen  will  never 
submit  whilst  I  am  in  your  power."  "  Ali,  however, 
too  wary  to  let  his  prey  escape  him  thus,  demanded 
what  security  he  would  give  for  his  return  if  his 
mission  should  prove  unsuccessful  ?  "  My  only  son 
Foto,  who  is  a  thousand  times  dearer  to  me,  and  more 
valuable  to  his  country,  than  my  own  life."  Upon 
these  conditions,  Tzavella  was  released,  and  an  equal 
number  of  Albanians  and  Suliots  met  at  the  bottom 
of  the  mountain  to  exchange  the  prisoners. 

When  Tzavella  arrived  in  Suli,  he  convoked  all 
the  other  captains  in  council,  and  urged  them  to  a 
vigorous  defence.  He  then  sent  the  following  letter 
to  the  tyrant.  "  Ali  Pasha,  I  rejoice  that  I  have  de- 
ceived a  deceiver.  I  am  here  to  defend  my  country 
agamst  a  robber.  My  son  is  doomed  to  death,  but  I 
will  desperately  avenge  him  before  I  die.  Some 
Turks,  like  yourself,  will  say  that  I  am  a  merciless 
father,  to  sacrifice  my  child  for  my  own  liberation.  I 
answer,  that  if  you  had  taken  the  mountain,  you 
would  have  massacred  my  son  with  all  the  rest  of  mv 


PATRIOTISM. 

family,  and  ray  countrymen.  In  that  case,  1  could 
not  have  revenged  his  death.  If  we  are  victorious, 
1  shall  have  other  children ;  my  wife  is  young.  If 
my  boy  be  not  willing,  young  as  he  is,  to  sacrifice 
himself  for  his  country,  lie  is  not  worthy  to  live,  or  to 
be  acknowledged  as  a  child  of  mine;  nor  ought  he  to 
be  named  as  a  worthy  son  of  Greece,  unless  he  can 
meet  death  with  fortitude.  Advance  then,  thou 
traitor,  I  am  impatient  for  revenge ;  I,  your  sworn 
enemy, 

CAPTAIN  LAMBRO  TZAVELLA." 

The  Pasha,  as  it  may  be  supposed,  was  highly  in- 
dignant at  this  answer,  and  the  failure  of  his  insidious 
schemes.  He  did  not,  however,  put  the  boy  to  death, 
but  sent  liim  to  loannina,  to  be  confined  there  with  the 
rest  of  liis  countrym.eu.  On  his  arrival,  he  was  brought 
into  the  presence  of  Ali's  chief  minister,  Mahomet 
EfFendi,  and  his  son  Vely,  who  put  his  constancy  to  T 
the  proof,  by  informing  him,  that  they  had  received  the 
Pasha's  orders  to  roast  him  alive.  "  Have  you  ?"  replied 
the  undaunted  youth.  Then  if  my  father  conquers, 
he  will  serve  you  the  same."  His  heroic  answer 
pleased  Vely,  who  is  by  no  means  of  a  cruel  dis- 
position, and  Foto  was  merely  sent  into  confinement 
at  one  of  the  monasteries  of  the  island. 

After  a  protracted  warfare,  Ali  again  proposed  a 
tTUce,  and  demanded  twenty-four Iiostages  as  a  security 
against  the  violation  of  his  territory.  When  these 
were  given  up,  the  deceitful  Vizir  threw  off  the  mask, 
imprisonec  these  unfortunate  men,  and  threatened 
them  with  death  by  torture,  unless  the  republic  should 
surrender  unconditionally.  To  his  perfidious  pro- 
posals, the  following  answer  was  returned  : 
M  3 


123  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

"  Vizir  AH  Pasha,  we  greet  you.— By  such  teeach- 
erous  conduct  you  do  nothing  eise  but  sully  your  ot4 
reputation,  and  increase  our  deterniined  res  ance 
agamstyou.  Know  this,  that  we  have  alreTdy  t  t 
seventeen  victims  sacrificed  in  their  country's  cause  ; 

lumber"  if"  ^'^'^'^  the 

number  their  memory  will  live  in  the  breasts  of  their 
.ellow  citizens.    But  the  republic  will  not  on  the 

ZTnTr"''  Henceforward  we  Lith 

desire,  nor  wili  we  entertain  any  friendship  with  you  • 
since  m  al  transactions,  and  on  every  occasion,^you 
are  a  violator  of  good  faith." 

thes!!lL'"t"ri'"''~  °^  ^"  exasperated 
ttie  Su hots,  that  they  prohibited  all  correspondence 
wi«i  him  and  threw  his  letters  unopened  into  the  fire! 

wh  re°:sT;r  1-™=- 

^vtiere,  as  it  was  a  custom  with  the  Suliots  never  to 

eno::r'o  d  """r"''  found Varmg 

enough  to  demand  them,  a  stratagem  was  devis»d  ''of 
this  purpose.    Being  al)  sent  to  the  island  in  th  lak: 
tLm  tfaTr°;V"         °'  '  --ted 

Sul  oK  '!''P™P°^^'^^3s™''arily  accepted  by  the 
Suhots,  who  according  to  custom,  deposited  their 
of  the  hV"  P"^'^'''  P' ^%ed  f^  h 

ma  a  re  l-^-T^  "-^^ J^owever,  named  Joto- 

Tat  vl?      '  «">nk,  observed,"  Whilst  my  country 

iZTrl^'l"."'^  °P="'°°'  b/ entering  armed 
•nto  toe  temple  of  God  under  such  circumstances." 

armtcon^'  T""  church,  they  found  their 

arms  conveyed  away,  and  a  party  of  Albanian  sol- 


PATRIOTISM.  127 

diers  ready  to  seize  and  bind  tJiera  ;  the  coraraander 
then  approached  Fotomara,  and  desired  him  to  sur- 
render his  weapons.  The  gallant  youtli  made  a 
raotion  as  if  he  would  have  sliot  the  person  who 
raade  this  request,  but  in  a  moment  the  probable  fate 
of  his  companions  flashed  across  his  mind  ;  he  re- 
strained himsen,  and  thus  calmly  replied  :  The 
worthless  coward  lays  down  his  arms  to  preserve  an 
ignoble  life,  the  palikar  in  death  alone  ;  see  then  how 
a  Suliot  lays  down  his  arms.'^  At  these  words  he 
turned  the  pistol  to  his  own  breast,  and  fell,  shot 
through  the  heart.  His  companions  were  all  kept  in 
close  confinement,  distributed  amongst  the  difterent 
convents  of  the  island.'^ 

The  treacherous  Ali  now  sought  to  purchase  Suii, 
for  which  he  offered  tvvo  thousand  purses,  with  per- 
mission to  settle  in  any  part  of  his  dominions  free  of 
taxes.    This  offer  was  treated  with  contempt. 

After  the  failure  of  these  public  proposals,  Ali 
turned  all  his  thouglits  to  excite  individual  treachery 
'within  this  brave  republic.  Accordingly,  he  dis- 
patched a  letter  secretly  to  the  valiant  Captain  Dimo 
Zerva,  promising  hira  eight  hundred  purses,  with  all 
the  honours  he  could  desire,  if  he  would  betray  the 
republic.  Zerva  immediately  convened  the  chiefs, 
read  the  letter  in  their  presence,  and  returned  the  fol- 
lowing answer  on  the  spot : 

"  I  thank  you,  vizir,  for  the  kind  regard  you 
express  towards  me,  but  I  beseech  you  notto  send  the 
purses,  for  I  should  not  knov/  how  to  count  them  ; 
and  if  I  did,  believe  me,  that  one  single  pebble 
belonging  to  my  country,  much  less  that  country 
itself,  wonld  in  my  eyes  appear  too  great  a  return  for 


^-^O  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

them.  Equally  vain  are  the  honours  you  offer  to 
bestow  upon  me.  The  honours  of  a  Sufiot  lie  in  his 
arms.  With  these  I  hope  to  immortalize  my  name 
and  preserve  ray  country." 


ANDREW  HOFER. 

The  name  of  Andrew  Hofer,  the  brave  leader  of 
the  Tyrolese,  is  not  only  dear  to  every  German,  but 
to  every  one  who  admires  undaunted  courage  and 
genuine  patriotism.  Hofer  was  of  a  phlegmatic  dispo- 
sition, fond  of  ease  and  tranquillity,  and  only  to  be 
roused  to  action  by  the  love  of  his  country.  The 
mention  of  a  victory  gained  by  Austria,  or  in  the 
cause  of  his  native  country ;  an  allusion  to  the  old 
times  of  the  Tyrol ;  an  enthusiastic  word  in  favour  of 
the  emj)eror,  or  the  House  of  Austria,  were  appeals 
which  had  too  powerful  an  effect  on  the  feelings  of 
Hofer ;  and  he  who,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
those  who  attended  him,  conducted  himself  in  his 
last  moments  as  "  un  eroe  Christiano  e  martire  intre- 
pido,"  was  for  some  time  bathed  in  tears,  and  unable 
to  utter  a  word. 

When  the  French  invaded  the  Tyrol,  which  had 
been  abandoned  by  the  Austrians,  Andrew  Hofer 
roused  the  slumbering  spirit  of  his  countrymen,  and 
offered  to  lead  them  against  the  enemy.  He  declared 
that  he  would  accept  the  office  of  commander-in-chief 
if  they  wished  to  confer  it  on  him  j  but  if  they  pre- 
ferred any  other  leader,  he  was  prepared  to  draw  his 
sword  as  simple  commandant  of  the  Passeyr  valley, 
where  he  was  born ;  and  that  in  whatever  situation 
it  pleased  God  to  place  him,  he  would  sacrifice  his 


TATRIOTJSM.  120 
life  for  the  cause  of  his  country.  This  declaration 
was  received  with  shouts  of  approbation,  and  Hofer 
from  tliat  luoment  became  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Tyrolese. 

The  spirit  of  Hofer  soon  ran  thrcugii  the  whole  of 
the  Tjrol,  and  in  some  of  the  districts  the  enthu- 
siasm was  siicli,  that  the  women  took  an  active  part 
in  the  hostilities,  and  aided  each  other  to  hurl  down 
stones  upon  the  enemy's  troops  in  the  narrow  defiles. 
A  girl  of  eighteen,  named  Josephine  Negretti,  as- 
sumed the  dress  of  a  man,  and  was  seveiai  times  in 
action  with  the  sharp-shooters,  carrying  a  rifle,  and 
using  it  with  considerable  dexterity. 

Three  times  Hofer  delivered  his  country  from  the 
Bavarians  and  the  French  ;  and  a  grand  festival  was 
held  at  Inspruck,  in  honour  of  him.  He  was  ilmt 
day  formally  invested  with  a  medal  sent  to' him  by 
the  emperor,  in  the  great  church,  at  the  foot  of  the 
tomb  of  Maximilian,  by  the  abbot  of  Wilna,  amidst 
the  acclamations  of  the  people. 

Tragical  events  now  followed  ;  the  Bavarians  gained 
ground  in  the  Tyrol,  and  their  successes  were  fol- 
lowed by  a  treaty  of  peace  between  France  and 
Austria.  Hofer  could  not  brook  the  idea  of  becoming 
a  subject  of  France,  and  when  he  was  deserted  by  ail. 
his  followers,  he  retired  to  a  place  of  concealment 
in  the  mountains  of  his  native  valley,  v/here  he  re- 
mained for  some  time  undiscovered,  in  spite  of,  the 
active  search  that  was  made  for  him,  and  the  reward 
that  was  offered  for  his  head.  The  place  of  his  con- 
cealment, in  which  he  remained  from  the  end  of 
November  to  the  end  of  the  month  of  January  fol- 
lowing, was  a  solitary  Alpine  hut,  four  long  leagues 


ISO  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

distant  from  his  own  lioase,  at  times  inaccessible  from 
the  snow  which  surrounded  it ;  a  few  faithful  adhe- 
rents supplied  him  from  time  to  time  witii  the  food 
that  was  necessary  for  himself  and  his  family,  and 
more  than  once  he  v/as  visited  by  confidential  mes- 
sengers from  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  who  used  every 
entreaty  to  make  him  quit  his  abode,  and  follow  them 
to  Austria,  assuring  him,  at  the  same  time,  a  safe 
conduct  through  the  enemy's  army.  But  Hofer 
steadily  refused  all  their  offers,  and  expressed  his 
determination  never  to  abandon  either  his  country  or 
his  family. 

At  length,  the  secret  of  his  concealment  was  made 
known  to  the  French,  who  sent  a,  body  of  sixteen 
hundred  men  to  take  him  prisoner  ;  and  two  thou- 
sand more  were  ordered  to  be  in  readiness  to  assist 
them,  so  fearful  were  they  of  some  attempt  being 
made  to  rescue  him.  It  was  dark  when  the  French 
approached  his  hut,  but  as  soon  as  Hofer  heard  the 
officer  enquire  for  him,  he  came  intrepidly  forward, 
and  gave  himself  up.  He  was  then  marched,  together 
withhis  wife,  his  daughter,  and  his  son,  who  was  twelve 
years  old,  through  Meran  to  Botzen,  amidst  the 
shouts  of  the  French  soldiery  and  the  tears  of  his 
countr3'^men. 

On  his  arrival  at  Mantua,  a  court  martial  was 
immediately  held,  for  the  purpose  of  trying  him ;  but 
while  it  was  still  sitting,  a  telegraphic  dispatch  from 
Milan  ordered  him  for  execution  within  twenty-four 
hours,  thus  putting  it  out  of  the  power  of  Austria  to 
interfere  in  his  behalf. 

The  fatal  morning  of  his  execution  now  arrived. 
As  the  clock  struck  eleven,  the  generate  sounded,  a 


PATRIOTISM.  131 

battalion  of  grenadiers  was  drawn  out,  and  the  officers 
who  were  to  attend  the  execution  entered  his  prison. 
As  Hofer  came  from  it,  he  passed  hy  the  barracks 
on  the  Porta  Molina,  in  which  the  Tyrolese  were 
confined  ;  all  who  were  there  fell  on  their  knees,  put 
up  their  prayers,  and  wept  aloud.  Those  who  were 
at  large  in  the  citadel,  assembled  on  the  road  by 
which  he  passed  ;  and,  approaching  as  near  as  the 
escort  permitted  them,  threw  themselves  on  the 
ground  and  implored  his  blessings.  This  Hofer  gave 
them,  and  then  begged  their  forgiveness  for  having 
been  the  cause  of  their  present  misfortunes,  assuring 
them,  at  the  same  time,  that  he  felt  confident  that  they 
would  once  a^ain  return  under  the  dominion  of  the 
Emperor  Francis,  to  whom  he  cried  out  the  last 
"  vivat,"  with  a  clear  and  steady  voice.  He  de- 
livered to  Manifesti,  the  priest,  every  thing  he  pos- 
sessed, to  be  distributed  amongst  his  countrymen  ; 
this  consisted  of  500  florins  in  Austrian  bank  notes, 
his  silver  snufif-box,  and  his  beautiful  rosary  ;  a  few 
moments  before  his  deatli,  he  also  delivered  to  his 
faithful  attendant  his  small  silver  rosary,  which  he 
constantly  carried  about  him. 

On  the  broad  bastion,  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  Porta  Ceresa,  the  commanding  officer  halted  his 
men.  The  grenadiers  formed  a  square  open  in  the 
rear;  twelve  men  and  a  corporal  stepped  forward, 
while  Hofer  remained  standing  in  the  centre.  The 
drummer  then  offered  him  a  white  handkerchief  to 
bind  his  eyes,  and  told  him  that  it  was  necessary  to 
kneel  down ;  but  Hofer  declined  the  handkerchief,  and 
peremptorily  refused  to  kneel,  observing,  "  that  he 
was  used  to  stand  upright  before  his  Creator,  and  in 


132  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

that  posture  he  would  deliver  up  his  spirit  to  him." 
He  cautioned  tbe  corporal  to  perform  his  duty  well,  at 
the  .lame  time  presenting  him  with  a  piece  of  twenty 
kreutzers  ;  and  having  uttered  a  few  words  by  way  of 
farewell,  expressive  of  his  unshaken  attachment  to 
his  native  country,  he  pronounced  the  word  "  fire," 
with  a  firm  voice.  His  death,  like  that  of  Palm,  was 
not  instantaneous,  for  on  the  first  fire  he  sunk  only  on 
his  knees  ;  a  merciful  shot,  however,  at  last  despatched 
him.  The  spot  on  which  he  fell,  is  still  considered 
sacred  by  his  countrymen  and  companions  in  arras. 

Thus  perished  in  the  prime  of  life,  Andrew  Hofer, 
a  plain  uneducated  village  inn-keeper,  who  opposed 
for  some  time  with  success  the  enormous  power  of 
l^jance  and  Bavaria,  with  an  army  of  rude  undis« 
j^Gfp^lned  peasants. 
*r  "  By  his  companions  and  countrymen  he  was  re- 
v,'     garded  as  the  hero,  the  saviour  of  his  country  ;  and 
his  name  is  never  mentioned  in  the  Tyjol  without 
tears  of  grateful  affection  and  admiration. 

A  simple  tomb  has  been  erected  to  the  memory  of 
Hofer  on  the  Brenner,  at  a  short  distance  from  his 
own  habitation ;  it  contains  no  other  inscription  than 
.  his  name,  and  the  dates  of  his  birth  and  death.  The 
record  of  his  actions  is  left  to  be  transmitted,  as  it 
doubtless  will  be,  to  the  latest  posterity,  in  the  popular 
stories  and  rude  ballads  of  the  Mountaineers,  who  Jove 
and  revere  his  name,  and  consider  him  as  a  model 
of  disinterested  loyalty  and  devoted  attachment  to 
his  native  land. 


PATRIOTISM. 


133 


KORNER. 

When  Gerraany  was  struggling  to  emancipate  her- 
self from  a  foreign  yoke,  Theodore  Korner,  the  young 
hero  whose  energetic  poems  helped  so  powerfully  to 
kindle  a  patriotic  spirit  among  his  countrymen,  could 
no  longer  endure  the  indolent  occupations  of  a  poet. 
He  left  Vienna  in  March,  1813,  and  joined  a  distin- 
guished free  corps,  in  which  he  soon  rose  to  rank, 
and  became  the  idol  of  his  comrades.  He  courted 
danger  and  death  with  the  cool  devotion  of  heroism ; 
and  his  poems  perpetually  breatiie  a  quiet  foreboding 
of  his  approaching  fate.  He  was  killed  in  an  en- 
gagement with  the  French  at  Rosenburg,  in  Mecklen- 
burg, on  the  26th  of  August,  1813.  On  the  morning 
of  that  day,  he  wrote  in  his  pocket-book,  and  read  to 
a  friend,  when  the  signal  for  attack  was  given,  his 
exquisite  dialogue  with  his  sword,  called  The  Sword 
Song.^'^  TheetFectof  Korner's  spirit-stirring  strains, 
oil  the  indignant  and  struggling  Germans,  was  elec- 
trical. They  struck  on  the  soul  with  all  the  power 
of  the  most  inspiring  martial  music  ;  and  at  this  day, 
they  are  universally  loved  and  admired.  They  revive 
the  recollections  of  glory,  and  penetrate  the  hearts 
of  the  Germans  like  the  notes  of  the  trumpet  of 
victory,  or  the  triumphant  din  of  battle  melting  in 
the  distance.  This  youthful  hero  fell  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two.  One  of  his  patriotic  songs,  entitled. 
Men  and  Dastards,"  was  commenced  in  a  bivouac 
hut  on  tlie  Slecknitz,  on  the  morning  of  an  engage- 
ment. A  single  stanza  will  show  what  a  glorious 
spirit  it  breathed. 


134 


PEllCY  ANECDOTES. 


"The  land  is  roused,  the  storm  breaks  loose— 
What  traitor  hand  now  shrinks  from  its  use  ? 
Shame  on  the  paie-fac'd  wretch,  who  cowers 
In  chimney  corners  and  damsel's  bowers; 
Shame  on  thee,  cra'7in  recreant  sot ! 
Our  German  maidens  greet  thee  no£; 
Our  German  carols  joy  thee  not; 
Our  German  wine  inspires  thee  not ; 
On  in  the  van ! 
Man  to  man ! 
Whoe'er  a  faulchion's  hilt  can  span  I" 


THE  PARGUINOTES. 

The  small  town  of  Parga,  on  the  coast  of  Epirus, 
which  maintained  its  independence  for  ages  uuder 
the  protection  of  tlie  Venetian  republic,  and  which 
boldly  contested  for  liberty  for  six  months  against  the 
Turks,  was  by  a  treaty,  in  which  the  British  nation 
was  a  party,  ceded  to  their  most  inveterate  and 
deadly  enemies.  This  event  took  place  in  1814 ; 
stipulations  of  a  favourable  kind  were  made  in  behalf 
of  the  Parguinotes,  and  it  was  agreed,  that  every  one 
who  would  rather  withdraw  from  his  country,  than 
trust  to  the  faithless  promises  of  Ali  Pacha,  for  to  him 
they  were  then  ceded,  was  to  have  tlie  privilege  of 
retiring,  and  to  have  the  value  of  his  property  paid 
to  him  by  the  Albanian  tyrant. 

When  the  commissioners  of  Great  Britain  and  the 
Porte  first  met  to  ascertain  what  portion  of  the  na- 
tives chose  to  relinquish  their  country,  or  share  in  its 
disgrace,  they  were  called  one  by  one  with  the  great- 
est formality  before  the  two  cofnmissioners ;  and  allg 


PATRIOTISM.  135 
without  exception,  declared,  that  rather  than  submit 
to  the  Ottoman  authority,  they  would  for  ever  aban- 
don their  country,  were  they  even  to  lose  all  they 
possessed.  They  added,  that  hi  quitting  the  land  of 
their  birth,  they  would  disinter  and  carry  away  the 
bones  of  their  forefathers,  that  they  might  not  have 
to  reproach  themselves  with  having  left  those  sacred 
relics  to  the  most  cruel  enemies  of  their  race. 

One  of  the  Parguinotes,  named  Gianachi  Zulla,who 
was  deaf  and  dumb,  being  interrogated  in  his  turn  as 
to  the  course  which  he  proposed  to  take,  and  having 
ascertained  what  was  signified  to  him,  indignantly 
turned  to  the  Turkish  commissioner,  and  b^'  the 
most  energetic  and  unequivocal  gestures,  gave  him  to 
understand,  that  he  would  never  remain  under  the 
dominion  of  the  Pasha. 

Three  years  afterwards,  the  Parguinotes  were  again 
assembled,  and  again  expressed  their  determination 
not  to  live  under  the  yoke  of  the  Turks  ;  at  length,  in 
June,  1819,  it  was  determined  to  enforce  the  cession; 
and  the  British  commissioner  informed  the  Pargui- 
notes, that  in  conformity  with  the  arrangements  with 
Ali  Pasha,  a  Turkish  force  was  to  enter  their  territory 
without  delay.  The  Parguinotes  having  held  a  con- 
sultation, sent  to  inform  the  commandant,  that  as 
such  was  the  determination  of  the  British  commis- 
sioner, they  had  unanimously  resolved,  that  should 
one  single  Turk  enter  their  territory,  before  all  of  them 
should  have  had  a  fair  opportunity  of  leaving  it,  they 
would  put  to  death  their  wives  and  children,  and 
then  defend  themselves  against  any  force,  Christian 
or  Turkish,  that  should  violate  the  pledge  made  to 
N  2 


^36  PERCY  ANECDOTES.  ^ 

them,  and  tliatthej  would  fight  until  one  only  should 
survive  to  tell  the  story. 

The  English  commandant  perceiving  by  their  pre- 
parations, that  their  resolution  was  irrevocable, 
despatched  General  Sir  Frederick  Adam  to  expostulate 
with  them.  Tiiat  officer,  on  his  arrival  at  Parga,  ob- 
served  a  large  fire  in  the  public  square,  where  the 
inhabitants  had  heaped  together  the  bones  of  their 
ancestors,  collected  from  the  churches  and  cemeteries. 

Ail  the  male  population  stood  armed  at  the  doors 
of  their  respective  dwellings ;  the  women  and  children 
Tvere  within  awaiting  their  fate  ;  a  gloomy  and  'awful 
silence  prevailed.  A  few  of  the  primates,  with  the 
protopata  at  their  head,  received  General  Adam  on 
his  landing,  and  assured  him,  that  the  meditated  sacri- 
fice would  be  immediately  made,  unless  he  could 
stop  the  entrance  of  the  Turks,  who  had  already 
arrived  near  their  frontier,  and  effectually  protect 
their  embarkation  and  departure^ 

Fortunately,  Sir  Frederick  Adam  found  means  to 
prevail  on  the  Turkish  commandant  to  halt  with  his 
force.  The  embarkation  then  commenced,  and  all 
the  Parguinotes  proceeded  to  Corfu.  The  Turks  on 
their  entrance  found  Parga  a  desert ;  and  the  only 
signal  that  marked  their  reception,  was  the  smoke  of 
the  funeral  pile,  in  which  its  late  inhabitants  had 
consumed  the  bones  of  their  forefathers.  The  unfor- 
tunate emigrants  waited  at  Corfu  as  houseless  wan- 
derers, the  distribution  of  the  miserable  pittance  of 
of  48  per  head,  which  had  been  awarded  to  them  as 
a  compensation  for  the  loss  of  their"  property,  their 
social  endearments,  and  their  country. 


PATRIOTISM. 


137 


REMONSTRATING. 
When  the  lord  nia^/or,  aldermen,  common  council; 
and  Jivery  of  the  citj/  of  London,  framed  their  cele- 
brated remonstrance  to  George  III.  on  the  subject  of 
the  violation  of  the  conslitution  in  the  case  of  the 
Middlesex  election,  the  sheriffs  and  city  remem- 
brancer were  desired  to  wait  upon  the  king,  to  know 
when  his  majesty  would  be  pleased  to  receive  the 
same.^  On  arriving  at  the  palace,  they  were  told  that 
the  king  was  at  dinner.  While  waiting  to  know 
when  they  might  come  again,  Lord  Denbigh  came  up 
to  the  city  remembrancer,  and  asked  him  whether 
the  remonstrance  was  signed  and  sealed,  or  how  it 
was  authenticated  ?  The  remembrancer  said  that  he 
was  a  city  officer,  and  that  it  was  no  part  of  his  office 
to  give  Lord  Denbigh  an  answer  to  his  question. 
Lord  Denbigli  then  went  to  Mr.  Sheriff  Townshend, 
and  asked  him  whether  the  business  which  brought 
him  was  not  new  and  singular,  and  whether  the  city 
had  ever  presented  a  remonstrance  to  the  king  before  ? 
Mr.  Townshend  answered  with  a  question  equally 
pertinent.  Did  ever  a  King  of  England  before  turn 
a  deaf  ear  to  the  petitions  of  sixty  thousand  free- 
holders, and  his  back  on  those  who  presented  them  ? 
A  message  was  then  brought  out  to  them,  that  it  was 
his  majesty's  pleasure  that  they  should  wait  on  him 
next  day  at  St.  James's.  On  attending  there  accord- 
ingly, they  were  admitted,  after  waiting  about  three 
hours,  into  the  closet,  where  Mr.  Sheriff  Townshend 
addressed  his  majesty  in  the  following  words  : 
N  3 


138 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


"may  it  please  your  majesty, 

"By  order  of  the  lord  mayor,  aldermen,  and 
livery  of  the  city  of  London,  in  Common  Hall  as- 
sembled, we  took  the  earliest  opportunitj^,  as  was  our 
duty,  to  wait  upon  your  majesty ;  but  being  then 
prevented  by  one  of  your  majesty's  household,  who 
informed  us  that  it  was  your  majesty's  pleasure  to 
receive  us  this  day,  we  wait  on  your  majesty  humbly 
to  know  when  your  majesty  will  please  to  be  attended 
with  a  humble  address,  remonstrance,  and  petition." 

His  Majesty  was  pleased  to  return  the  following 
answer : 

"  As  the  case  is  entirely  new,  I  will  take  time  to 
consider  it,  and  transmit  you  an  answer  by  one  of 
my  principal  secretaries  of  state." 

On  the  following  evening,  the  sheriffs  received  the 
following  letter  from  Lord  Weymouth. 

"  GENTLEMEN,  "  St,  JamBs's,  Mavch  8. 

"  The  king  commands  me  to  inform  you,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  message  which  you  brought  yesterday 
to  St.  James's,  that  he  is  always  ready  to  receive 
applications  from  any  of  his  subjects ;  but  as  the 
present  case  of  address,  remonstrance,  and  petition, 
seems  entirely  new,  I  am  commanded  to  enquire  of 
you  in  what  manner  it  is  authenticated,  and  what  the 
nature  of  the  assembly  was  in  which  this  measure 
was  adopted  ?  When  you  furnish  me  with  answers  to 
these  questions,  I  shall  signify  to  you  his  majesty's 
farther  pleasure. 

"  I  am,  gentlemen,  your  most  obedient  and  iiumble 
servant,  "  weymouth." 

"  Sheriffs  of  London." 


PATRIOTISM.  13^ 
Next  day,  at  twenty  minutes  after  twelve,  the 
sheriffs  went  to  St.  James's.  The  remembrancer  told 
Lord  Bolingbroke,  who  was  the  Icrd  in  waiting,  that 
the  sheriffs  of  London  were  attending  his  majesty's 
pleasure,  and  that  they  required  an  audience.  Soon 
after,  the  two  secretaries  of  state,  Lord  Rochford  and 
Lord  Weymouth,  came  to  the  sheriffs,  and  Lord 
We^^mouth  asked  them  Whether  they  had  received 
his  letter,  which  was  written  by  his  majesty's  order?" 
Sheriffs.    "  We  have." 

Lord  Weymouth.  His  majesty  desires  to  know 
whether  you  come  in  consequence  of  that  letter  ;  or 
whether  you  come  on  any  fresh  business  ?" 

Sheriffs.  "  We  come  in  consequence  of  that 
letter."* 

Lord  Weymouth.    "  Would  it  not  be  more  proper 
to  send  an  answer  in  writing  through  me  ?" 

Sheriffs.  *'  We  act  ministerially  as  sheriffs  of 
London  ;  we  have  a  right  to  an  audience,  and  cannot 
communicate  to  any  other  person  than  the  king,  the 
subject  of  our  message." 

Lord  Weymouth.  "  I  do  not  dispute  your  right 
to  an  audience  ;  but  would  it  not  be  better  and  more 
accurate  to  give  your  message  to  me  in  writing  ?" 

Sheriffs.  "  We  know  the  value  and  consequence 
of  the  citizens'  right  to  apply  immediately  to  the 
king,  and  not  to  a  third  person  ;  and  we  do  not  mean 
that  any  of  their  rights  and  privileges  shall  be 
betrayed  by  our  means." 

The  secretaries  then  withdrew,  but  after  some  time 
returned,  when  Lord  Weymouth  said,  His  majesty 
understanding  that  you  come  ministerially  authorized 
with  a  message  from  the  city  of  London,  will  see  yoM 
as  soon  as  the  levee  is  over," 


140  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

As  soon  as  the  levee  was  over,  the  sherifFs  were 
introduced  into  the  king's  closet.  The  king  did  not 
as  usual  receive  thera  alone,  but  Lords  Gower, 
Rochford,  and  Weymouth  were  present.  Mr.  Sheriff 
Townshend  addressed  his  majesty  in  these  words. 

"may  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  MAJESTY, 

**  When  we  last  had  the  honour  to  appear  before 
you,  your  majesty  was  graciously  pleased  to  promise 
an  answer  by  one  of  your  majesty's  principal  secre- 
taries of  state;  but  we  had  yesterday  questions  pro- 
posed to  us  by  Lord  Weymouth.  In  answer  to  which, 
we  beg  humbly  to  inform  ycur  majesty,  that  the 
application  which  we  make  to  ymx  majesty,  we  make 
as  sheriffs  of  tlie  city  of  London,  by  the  direction  of 
the  livery,  in  Common  Hall  legally  assembled.  The 
address,  remonstrance,  and  petition,  to  be  presented 
to  your  majesty  by  their  chief  magistrate,  is  the  act 
of  the  citizens  of  London,  in  their  greatest  court, 
and  is  ordered  by  them  to  be  properly  authenticated 
as  their  act." 

His  majesty  shortly  replied, 

*'  1  will  consider  of  the  answer  you  have  given  me." 

It  was  afterwards  seriously  debated  in  council, 
whether  or  no  the  magistrates  of  London  should  be 
admitted  to  an  audience;  but  it  was  in  the  end 
thought  expedient  to  yield  the  point;  and  Lord 
Weymouth  wrote  a  letter  to  the  sheriffs,  appointing  a 
day  for  the  king's  receiving  of  the  remonstrance.  The 
lord  mayor,  accompanied  by  several  of  the  aldermen, 
the  sheriffs,  one  hundred  and  fifty -three  of  the  com- 
mon council,  a  committee  of  the  livery,  the  common 
Serjeant,  leraembrancer,  and  other  city  officers,  ac- 


PATRIOTISM.  141 
cordinglj  repaired  in  great  state  to  St.  James's,  and 
were  received  by  his  majesty  seated  on  the  throne. 
The  address,  remonstrance,  and  petition,  having  been 
read,  his  majesty  was  pleased  to  read  the  following 
answer : 

I  shall  always  be  ready  to  receive  the  requests 
and  to  listen  to  the  complaints  of  ray  subjects ;  but 
it  gives  me  great  concern  to  find  that  any  of  them 
should  have  been  so  far  misled,  as  to  offer  me  an  ad^ 
dress  and  remonstrance,  the  contents  of  which  I  cannot 
but  consider  disrespectful  to  me,  injurious  to  parlia- 
ment,  and  irreconcilable  to  the  principles  of  the 
constitution. 

"  I  have  ever  made  the  law  of  the  land  the  rale  of 
my  conduct,  esteeming  it  ray  chiefest  glory  to  reign 
over  a  free  people.  With  this  view,  I  have  always 
been  careful,  as  well  to  execute  faithfully  the  trust 
reposed  in  me,  as  to  avoid  even  the  appearance  of 
invading  any  of  those  powers  which  the  constitution 
has  placed  in  ray  hands.  It  is  only  by  persevering  in 
such  a  conduct,  that  I  can  either  discharge  ray  own 
duty,  or  secure  to  my  subjects  the  free  enjoyment  of 
those  rights  which  my  family  were  called  to  defend  ; 
and  while  I  act  upon  these  principles,  I  shall  have  a 
right  to  expect,  and  I  am  confident  1  shall  continue 
to  receive,  the  steady  and  affectionate  support  of  ray 
people." 

The  lord  mayor  (Beckford)  replied,  that  as  chief 
magistrate  of  London,  and  also  one  of  its  represen- 
tatives in  parliament,  he  considered  himself  as  its 
servant,  and  that  he  had  done  no  more  than  his 
duty. 


142 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


The  lord  mayor  and  the  rest  of  the  deputation  then 
kissed  the  king's  hand  and  retired. 

The  censure  which  the  king  passed  on  the  remon- 
strance, was  afterwards  fortified  by  approving  ad- 
dresses from  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  carried  by 
unusually  large  majorities ;  but  the  city,  nothing 
daunted,  resolved  on  presenting  a  second  remon- 
strance, couched  in  still  more  energetic  terms.  **  Your 
majesty,'*  said  they,  "cannot  disapprove  that  we 
here  assert  the  clearest  principles  of  the  constitution, 
against  the  insidious  attempt  of  evil  counsellors,  to 
perplex,  confound,  and  shake  them.  We  are  deter- 
mined to  abide  by  those  rights  and  liberties  which 
our  forefathers  bravely  vindicated  at  the  ever  memo- 
rable revolution,  and  which  their  sons  will  ever  reso- 
lutely defend.  We,  therefore,  now  renew  at  the 
foot  of  the  throne,  our  claim  to  the  indispensable 
right  of  the  subject ;  a  full,  free,  and  unmutilated 
parliament,  legally  chosen  in  all  its  members ;  a  right 
which  this  House  of  Commons  have  manifestly  vio- 
lated, depriving  at  their  will  and  pleasure,  the 
county  of  Middlesex  of  one  of  its  legal  represen- 
tatives, and  arbitrarily  nominating  as  a  knight  of 
the  shire,  a  person  not  elected  by  a  majority  of 
the  freeholders.  A.s  the  only  constitutional  means  of 
reparation  now  left  for  the  injured  electors  of  Great 
Britain,  we  implore  with  most  urgent  supplications, 
the  dissolution  of  this  present  parliament,  the  removal 
of  evil  ministers,  and  the  total  extinction  of  that 
fatal  influence  which  has  caused  such  national  dis- 
content." 

When  this  second  remonstrance  was  presented  to  the 


PATRIOTISM. 


143 


king,  by  the  lord  mayor,  aldermen,  &c.  bis  majesty, 
seated  on  the  throne,  read  the  following  answer: 

**I  should  have  been  wanting  to  the  public,  as  well 
as  to  myself,  if  I  had  not  expressed  my  dissatisfaction 
at  the  late  address. 

"  My  sentiments  on  that  subject  continue  the  same  3 
and  I  should  ill  deserve  to  be  considered  as  the  father 
of  my  people,  if  I  could  suifer  myself  to  be  prevailed 
upon  to  make  such  an  use  of  my  prerogative,  as  I 
cannot  but  think  inconsistent  with  the  interest,  and 
dangerous  to  the  constitution,  of  the  kingdom." 

The  lord  mayor  (Beckford)  then  made  the  following 
unpremeditated,  but  noble  reply  : 

**  MOST  GEACIOUS  SOVEREIGN, 

"Will  your majestj''  be  pleased  so  far  to  conde- 
scend, as  to  permit  the  mayor  of  your  loyal  city  of 
London,  to  declare  in  your  royal  presence,  on  behalf 
of  his  fellow  citizens,  how  nmch  the  bare  appre- 
hension of  your  majesty's  displeasure  would  at  all 
times  affect  their  minds  ;  the  declaration  of  that  dis- 
pleasure, has  already  filled  them  with  inexpressible 
anxiety,  and  with  the  deepest  affliction.  Permit  me, 
sire,  to  assure  your  majesty,  that  your  majesty  has 
not,  in  all  your  dominions,  any  subjects  more  faithful, 
more  dutiful,  or  more  affectionate  to  your  majesty's 
person  and  family,  or  more  ready  to  sacrifice  their 
lives  and  fortunes  in  the  maintenance  of  the  true 
•honour  and  dignity  of  your  crown. 

**  We  do,  therefore,  with  the  greatest  humility  and 
submission,  most  earnestly  supplicate  your  majesty, 
that  you  will  not  dismiss  us  from  your  presence,  with- 


144  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

out  expressing  a  more  favourable  opinion  of  jour 
faithful  citizens,  and  without  some  comfort,  without* 
some  prospect  at  least  of  redress. 

"  Permit  me,  sire,  farther  to  observe,  that  whoever 
has  already  dared,  or  shall  hereafter  endeavour,  by 
false  insinuations  and  suggestions,  to  alienate  your 
majesty's  affections  from  your  loyal  subjects  in  gene- 
ral, and  from  the  city  of  London  in  particular,  and  to 
^withdraw  your  confidence  in,  and  regard  for,  your 
people,  is  an  enemy  to  your  majesty's  person  and 
family,  a  violator  of  the  public  peace,  and  a  be- 
trayer of  our  happy  constitution,  as  it  was  established 
at  the  glorious  revolution." 

The  lord  mayor  waited  near  a  minute  for  a  reply— 
for  some  "  more  favourable  opinion,"  but  none  was 
given.  The  humility,  and  the  serious  firmness,  with 
which  the  venerable  magistrate  uttered  these  words, 
filled  the  whole  court  with  admiration  and  confusion. 
They  saw  among  the  indignant  citizens  before  them, 
very  ditferent  countenances  than  they  had  expected, 
from  a  description  by  Lord  Pomfret,  who  was  pleased 
to  declare  in  the  House  of  Lords,  that  "  however 
swaggering  and  impudent  the  behaviour  of  the  low 
citizens  might  be  on  their  own  dunghill,  when  they 
came  into  the  royal  presence,  their  heads  hung  down 
like  bulrushes,  and  they  blinked  with  their  eyes  like 
owls  in  the  sunshine." 

The  conduct  of  the  lord  mayor  on  this  occasion^ 
received,  as  it  justly  merited,  the  thanks  of  his  fellow 
citizens-  His  reply  was  ordered  to  be  inserted  in  the 
city  books  ;  and  afterwards  at  his  death,  on  a  monu- 
ment erected  in  the  Guildhall  to  his  memory. 

TVhen  it  is  recollected,  that  the  cause  far  which  the 


PATillOTl&M.  145 

city  of  London  thus  boldly  contended  in  tliese  re- 
monstrances, was  that  whicli  Irimnplied  at  last  in 
spite  of  the  united  efforts  of  the  court,  the  ministry, 
and  the  parliament,  and  has  since  been  solemnly  and 
universally  recognized  as  the  cause  of  the  constitution, 
and  of  liberty,  it  is  impossible  to  appreciate  too  highly 
the  national  importance  of  the  conduct  which  they 
pursued.  We  may  well  say  with  Junius,  that  "  the 
noble  spirit  of  the  metropolis,  is  the  life-blood  of  the 
state  collected  at  the  heart ;  from  that  point  it  circu- 
lates with  health  and  vigour  through  every  artery  of 
the  constitution  or  with  Wilkes,  the  hero  of  the  con- 
test, that  "  English  history  does  not  give  a  stronger 
instance  of  the  uprightness  of  our  countrymen,  nor 
an  example  of  any  body  of  men  more  untainted  by 
corruption,  more  uninfluenced  by  every  consider- 
ation of  fear  or  interest,  and  more  calm,  yet  deter^ 
mined  in  a  great  cause/"' 

MARSHAL  BOUFFLERS. 
A  few  days  previous  to  the  battle  of  Malplaquet, 
It  was  publicly  talked  of  at  Versailles,  that  a  very 
important  battle  would  soon  take  place  between  the 
French  army  commanded  by  Marshal  Villars,  and  the 
allied  army  under  Prince  Eugene  and  Marlborough. 
Louis  XIV.  who  for  some  years  had  met  with  many 
mortifying  repulses,  seemed  to  be  very  uneasy  about 
the  event.  Marshal  Boufflers,  in  order  to  quiet  in 
some  degree  the  perturbation  of  his  sovereign's  mind, 
offered,  though  a  senior  officer  to  Villars,  to  go  and 
serve  under  him,  sacrificing  all  personal  consider- 
ations, to  the  glory  of  his  country.    His  proposal 


146  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

was  accepted,  and  he  repaired  to  the  camp.  On  his 
arrival,  a  very  singular  coRtest  took  place  between 
the  tv,o  commanders.  Villars  desired  to  have 
Boufflers  for  bis  leader ;  but  the  latter  persisted  in 
yielding  him  all  the  glory,  while  he  shared  the 
danger.  No  event  in  the  life  of  Boufflers  ever  con- 
tributed more  to  render  his  name  illustrious. 

Marshal  Villars,  who  commanded  the  left  win.g  at 
the  battle,  being  obliged  to  retire  on  account  of  a 
wound  he  had  received,  Marshal  Boufflers  charged 
the  enemy  six  times  after  this  accident;  but  finding 
they  had  made  themselves  master  of  a  wood  through 
which  they  penetrated  into  the  centre  of  the  French 
army,  he  yielded  them  the  field  of  battle,  and  made 
a  retreat  in  such  good  order,  that  the  allies  declined 
pursuin  him. 

THE  EARL  OF  EFFINGHAM- 

When  the  unhappy  contest  broke  out  between 
Britain  and  her  American  colonies,  the  Earl  of 
Effingham,  who  had  then  the  command  of  the  22nd 
regiment,  was  one  of  those  who  thought  and  declared. 
in  his  place  in  parliament,  that  the  colonies  only 
contended  for  that  freedom,which  was  their  birthright. 
The  22nd  being  one  of  the  regiments  which  was 
afterwards  destined  to  attempt  by  force  of  arms  to 
reduce  the  Americans  to  obedience,  his  lordship  had 
no  other  alternative,  but  either  to  resign  his  command, 
or  take  the  field  against  his  principles.  The  choice 
could  not  be  for  a  moment  doubtful.  His  lordship 
sent  in  his  resignation,  accompanied  by  the  following 
letter : 


PATKIOTISM. 


147 


**  To  Lord  Barrington,  Secretary  of  War, 
"My  lord,  I  beg  the  favour  of  your  lordship  to 
lay  before  his  majesty  the  peculiar  embarrassment  of 
my  present  situation.    Your  lordship  is  no  stranger 
to  the  conduct  1  have  observed  in  the  unhappy  con- 
test with  our  American  colonies.    The  king  is  too 
just,  and  too  generous,  not  to  believe  that  the  votes 
I  have   given  in  parliament,  have  been  given  ac- 
cording to  the  dictates  of  my  conscience.  Whether 
I  have  erred  or  not,  the  course  of  public  events 
must  determine ;  in  the  meantime,  if  1  were  capable 
of  such  duplicity,  as  to  be  any  way  concerned  in 
enforcing  those  weapons  of  which  I  have  so  publicly 
and  so  solemnly  expressed  my  disapprobation,  I 
should  ill  deserve  what  I  am  most  ambitious  of  ob- 
taining— the  esteem  and  favourable  opinion  of  my 
sovereign.  My  request,  therefore,  to  your  lordship,  is 
this  ;  that  after  having  laid  these  circumstances  before 
tlie  king,  you  will  assure  his  majesty,  that  he  has  not 
a  subject  who  is  more  ready  than  I  am  with  the  ut- 
most cheerfulness  to  sacrifice  ray  life  and  fortune  in 
snpport  of  the  safety,  honour,  and  dignity  of  his 
-majesty's  crown  and  person.     But  the  very  same 
principles  which  have  inspired  me  with  these  un- 
alterable sentiments  of  duty  and  aiFection  to  his 
majesty,  will  not  suffer  me  to  be  instrumental  in  de- 
priving any  part  of  his  people  of  those  liberties  which 
form  the  best  security  of  their  fidelity  and  obedience 
to  his  government.    As  1  cannot,  without  reproach 
to  my  own  conscience,  consent  to  bear  arms  against 
my  fellow  subjects  in  America,  in  what  to  my  weak 
discernment  is  not  a  clear  cau^e,  and  as  it  seems  now 
o  % 


148 


PERCY  ANECDOTES, 


to  be  Unaliy  resoived  that  tite  22nd  regiment  is  to 
go  upon  American  service,  1  desire  your  lordship  to 
laj  me  in  the  most  dutiful  manner  at  his  maje.sty's 
feet,  and.  humbly  beg  that  I  may  be  permitted  to 
retire.  Your  lordship  will  also  be  so  obliging  as  to 
entreat,  that  as  I  waive  what  the  custom  of  the  service 
would  entitle  me  to,  the  right  of  selling  what  I  bought, 
I  may  be  allowed  to  retain  my  rank  in  the  army, 
that  whenever  the  enemy,  or  the  ambition  of  foreign 
powers,  should  require  it,  I  may  be  enabled  to  serve 
his  majesty  and  my  country  in  that  way  in  which 
alone  I  can  expect  to  serve  him  with  any  degree  of 
elFect. 

Your  lordship  will  easily  conceive  the  regret  and 
mortification  I  feel  at  being  necessitated  to  quit  the 
military  profession,  which  has  been  that  of  my  ancestors 
during  many  generations ;  to  which  I  have  been  bred 
almost  from  my  infancy  ;  to  which  I  have  devoted  the 
study  of  my  life ;  and  to  perfect  myself  in  which,  I  have 
sought  instruction  and  service  in  whatever  part  of 
the  world  they  could  be  formed. 

I  have  delayed  this  to  the  last  moment,  lest  any 
wrong  construction  should  be  given  to  a  conduct 
which  is  inflnenced  only  by  the  purest  motives.  I 
complain  of  nothing.  I  love  my  profession,  and  should 
think  it  highly  blameable  to  quit  any  course  of  life 
in  which  1  might  be  useful  to  the  public,  so  long  as 
my  constitutional  principle,  and  my  notions  of 
honour,  permitted  me  to  continue  in  it. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  much  respect,  your 
lordship's  most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant, 

"  EFFINGHAM.*' 

The  king  was  so  well  convinced  of  the  conscicn- 


PATRIOTISM.  ^  14f> 

t\oiis  motives  from  which  Lord  EtHngham  acted,  that 
bis  majesty,  while  he  regretted  the  loss  of  his  services, 
was  pleased  to  declare  that  he  should  not  lose  the 
benefit  of  his  rank  upon  any  future  occasion. 

In  a  subsequent  debate  in  the  House  of  Lords,  his 
lordship  alluding  to  his  resignation,  thus  feelinglv 
expressed  himself:  "  Ever  since  I  was  of  an  age  to 
have  any  ambition  at  all,  my  highest  has  been  to  sare 
my  country  in  a  military  capacity.  If  there  was 
on  earth  an  event  dreaded,  it  was  to  see  this  country 
so  situated,  as  to  make  that  profession  incompatible 
with  my  duty  as  a  citizen. 

"  That  period  is  in  my  opinion  arrived ;  and  I  have 
thought  myself  bound  to  relinquish  the  hopes  I  had 
formed,  by  a  resignation ;  which  appeared  to  me  the 
only  method  of  avoiding  the  guilt  of  enslaving  my 
country,  and  embruing  my  hands  in  the  blood  of 
her  sons. 

"  When  the  duties  of  a  soldier  and  a  citizen 
become  inconsistent,  I  shall  always  think  myself 
obliged  to  sink  the  character  of  the  soldier  into  that 
of  the  citizen,  until  such  time  as  those  duties  shall 
again,  by  the  malice  of  our  real  enemies,  become 
united. 

^  **  It  is  no  small  sacrifice  that  a  man  makes,  who 
gives  up  his  profession ;  but  it  is  a  greater,  when  a 
predilection  strengthened  by  habit,  has  given  so  strong 
an  attachment  to  his  profession  as  I  feel.  I  have, 
however,  this  consolation,  that  by  making  this  sacri- 
fice, I  at  least  give  to  my  country  an  unequivocal 
proof  of  the  sincerity  of  my  principles." 

At  a  public  meeting  afterwards,  of  the  freeholders 
of  the  county  of  Middlesex,  they  unanimously  voted 
o  3 


150  PERCY"  ANECDOTES^ 

their  thanks  to  *'  the  Eari  of  Effingham,  the  citizen 
and  soldier  who  refused  to  draw  his  sword  against 
the  rights  of  his  fellow  subjects." 

DUKE  OF  BEDFORD. 

When  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Bedford  negoclated 
a  peace  with  France,  he  signed  the  preliminaries  with 
the  French  minister,  Choiseul,  and  stipulated  no 
farther  for  the  East  India  Company  than  he  was  ad- 
vised by  the  Court  of  Directors.     A  gentleman,  a 
Dutch  Jew,  of  great  abilities  and  respectable  cha- 
racter, hearing  this,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  duke,  in- 
forming him,  that  the  English  East  India  Company 
had  materially  neglected  their  own  interest,  as  their 
chief  conquests  were  made  subsequent  to  the  period 
at  which  they  had  fixed  their  claim  of  sovereignty  ; 
and  if  these  latter  conquests  were  to  be  restored,  an 
immense  annual  revenue  would  necessarily  be  taken 
from  England.    The  duke,  struck  with  the  force  of 
the  fact,  yet  greatly  embarrassed  how  to  act,  as  pre- 
liminaries  were   actually  signed,  repaired   to  the 
French  minister,  and  addressed  him  thus:  "My  lord, 
I  have  committed  a  great  mistake  in  signing  the  pre- 
liminaries, as  the  affair  of  the  India  possessions  must 
be  carried  down  to  the  last  conquest  in  Asia."  To 
this  Choiseul  replied,  **  Your  Grace  astonishes  me ;  I 
thought  I  had  been  treating  with  the  minister  of  a 
great  nation,  and  not  with  a  student  in  politics,  who 
does  not  consider  the  validity  of  written  engage- 
ments."    The  duke  replied,  "Your  reproach,  my 
lord,  is  just;  but  I  will  not  add  treachery  to  negli- 
gence, nor  deliberately  betray  ray  country  because  I 


PATRIOTISM.  151 

have  unaccountably  neglected  her  interests  in  a  single 
circumstance  ;  therefore,  unless  your  lordship  agrees 
to  cede  the  latter  conquests  in  India,  I  shall  return 
home  in  twelve  hours,  and  submit  the  fate  of  my  head 
to  arr  English  parliament/'  Choiseul,  struck  with 
the  intrepidity  of  the  duke,  yielded  the  point,  and 
Britain  now  enjoys  above  half  a  million  annually, 
through  the  firmness  of  a  man  whom  it  was  once 
even  patriotism  to  calumniate.  On  the  termination 
of  the  affair  to  his  satisfaction,  his  Grace  gave  the 
Dutch  gentleman  the  warmest  recommendation  to  the 
English  East  India  Company,  who  conferred  upon 
him  a  pension  of  ^500  annually,  for  the  important 
service  which  he  had  rendered. 


THE  DE  WITTS. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-five,  John  de  Witt,  the  second 
son  of  Jacob  de  Witt,  burgomaster  of  Dort,  was  elected 
pensionary  of  Dort,  and  so  distinguished  himself  by 
his  able  conduct,  tliat  he  was  soon  after  made  pen- 
sionary over  all  Holland.  Upon  this  occasion,  when 
some  of  his  friends  reminded  him  of  the  hard  fate  of 
his  predecessor,  Bameveldt,  he  replied,  that  "  human 
life  was  liable  to  trouble  and  danger,  and  that  he 
thought  it  honourable  to  save  his  country,  which  he 
was  resolved  to  do,  whatever  returns  he  might  meet 
with."  Finding  the  war  in  which  Holland  was  then 
engaged  with  England,  destructive  to  the  commerce 
and  best  interests  of  the  commonwealth,  he  imme- 
diately opened  a  negociation  with  Cromwell,  and 
concluded  a  peace  on  honourable  terms.  When  the 
usual  period  of  liis  ofifice  had  expired,  he  was  unani- 


152  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

mously  continued  in  it,  by  a  resolution  of  the  states  ; 
and  on  hostilities  again  breaking  out  with  England, 
at  the  restoration,  he  showed  himself  not  less  skilful 
and  brave  in  the  field,  than  wise  and  temperate  in 
the  cabinet.  He  was  appointed  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners for  the  direction  of  the  navy,  and  made  such 
vigorous  dispositions,  that  he  had  a  fleet  ready  for 
sea,  before  the  admirals  themselves  imagined  it  pos- 
sible, though  naval  affairs  were  quite  new  to  him. 
After  Opdam's  defeat  and  death,  it  being  deemed 
expedient  that  a  commission  of  deputies  from  the 
states  should  command  the  fleet,  he  was  one  of  three 
to  whom  this  important  trust  was  confided  ;  and,  in 
the  execution  of  it,  distinguished  himself  in  a  very 
remarkable  manner,  by  his  nautical  sagacity  and  in- 
trepidity. He  conducted  the  fleet  out  of  the  Texel 
at  a  time  when,  in  the  opinion  of  all  naval  men,  the 
state  of  the  wind  rendered  it  impossible.  In  a 
dreadful  storm  which  they  afterwards  encountered  off 
Norway,  he  remained  upon  deck  all  the  time,  and 
never  changed  his  clothes,  nor  took  any  refreshment, 
but  in  common  with  the  men ;  and  when  he  saw  a 
want  of  hands,  assisted  himself,  and  obliged  his 
oflficers  to  follow  his  example. 

In  1667,  De  Witt  finding  a  favourable  conjuncture 
for  executing  the  great  design  of  the  warm  republicans 
of  that  time,  he  prevailed  on  the  states  to  pass  an 
edict,  by  which  the  olEce  of  stadtholder  was  for  ever 
abolished,  and  the  liberty  of  Holland,  as  it  was  sup- 
posed, fixed  on  an  everlasting  basis.  In  obedience 
to  this  edict,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  when  in  1672  he 
was  elected  captain  and  admiral  general,  solemnly 
abjured  the  stadtholdership.     The  prince,  however, 


PATRIOTISM.  153 

had  partisans  at  work,  whose  intrigues  were  directed 
to  a  very  dilFerent  end.    A  tumult  was  stirred  up  at 
Dort,  and  the  people  declared  they  would  have  the 
old  order  of  things  revived,  and  that  the  prince  sliould 
be  their  stadtholder.    The  prince  came  in  person  to 
Dort,  on  the  invitation  of  the  inhabitants,  and  ac- 
cepted  of  the  office.    Most  of  the  other  towns  and 
provinces  followed  the  example.     The  pensionary, 
unable  to  contend  with  this  tide  of  events,  begged 
his^  dismission,  and  it  was  granted  him.     He  now 
retired  into  private  life,  and  deplored  in  secret  the 
misfortunes  of  his  country,  which,  from  the  highest 
prosperity,  fell,  as  it  were  all  at  once,  to  the  verv 
brink  of  ruin.    An  invasion  from  the  French  con- 
curred with  their  own  intestine  divisions  to  spread 
every  where  terror  and  confusion  ;  while,  to  exclude 
De  Witt  and  his  friends  from  any  chance  of  returning 
popularity,  the  Prince  of  Orange's  party  were  un~ 
ceasing  in  their  endeavours  to  heap  every  possible 
degree  of  odium  upon  them.    The  mob  were  insti- 
gated to  pull  down  a  house  in  which  the  pensionary 
was  supposed  to  be  lying  sick ;  an  attempt  was  made 
to  assassinate  both  him  and  his  brother  Cornelius,  on 
the  same  day,  in  different  places;  and  the  Count  de 
Monthas,  who  had  married  their  sister,  was  ordered 
to  be  arrested  in  camp  as  a  traitor,  though  he  had 
behaved  with  the  greatest  courage  and  integrity. 
Cornelius  was  at  length  accused  by  one  Ticklaer,  a 
barber,  of  a  design  of  poisoning  the  prince ;  and 
though  his  judges  could  not  declare  him  guilty,  he  was 
condemned  to  exile.    But  before  this  sentence  could 
be  fulfilled^  his  ignominious  accuser  persuaded  the 
people  that  he  would  be  rescued  out  of  the  prison  in 


154  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

which  he  was  confined  ;  on  this,  they  instantly  armed 
and  surrounded  the  place,  where  it  unfortunately  hap- 
pened that  the  pensionary  was  on  a  visit  to  his  brother. 
The  mob  broke  open  the  doors,  and  dragging  the 
unhappy  brothers  forth,  barbarously  murdered  them. 
They  carried  their  dead  bodies  to  the  gallows,  where 
they  hung  the  pensionary  a  foot  higher  than  his 
brother;  and  after  mangling  their  bodies,  cut  their 
clothes  in  a  thousand  pieces,  and  se!it  them  about 
the  country  as  trophies  of  conquest. 

The  pensionary  was  in  his  forty-seventh  year. 
*'  He  was,"  says  Hume,  "  a  minister  equally  eminent 
for  greatness  of  mind,  for  capacity,  and  for  integrity." 
Sir  William  Temple,  who  was  intimately  acquainted 
with  his  character,  speaks  of  him,  on  various  occa- 
sions, in  the  highest  terms  of  admiration  and  praise. 
He  observes,  that  when  he  was  at  the  head  of  the 
government,  he  differed  nothing  in  his  manner  of 
living  from  an  ordinary  citizen.  When  he  made 
visits,  he  was  attended  only  by  a  single  footman; 
and  on  common  occasions,  he  was  frequently  seen  in 
the  streets  without  any  attendant  at  all.  His  office 
for  the  first  ten  years  brought  him  in  little  more  than 

300  ;  and  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  not  above 
^700.  The  states  made  him  an  offer  of  a  gift  of 
^10,000;  but  he  refused  it  as  a  bad  example  in  a 
free  government. 


WILLIAM  WALLACE. 
Never  perhaps  was  the  fame  of  any  man  more 
cherished  b^^  a  people,  than  that  of  William  Wallace 
k  by  the  Scottish  nation.    Plis  exploits  have  been 


PATRIOTISM.  155 
for  ages  the  darling  theme  of  all  ranks  of  the  people  ; 
and  in  those  parts  of  the  country  where  his  adventures 
chiefly  lay,  there  is  scarcely  a  lofty  rock,  high  fall  of 
water,  lonely  cave,  or  other  remarkable  object  in 
nature,  which  is  not  designated  by  a  name  dear  to 
every  romantic,  youtljful,  and  patriotic  mind.  The 
recorded  feats  in  the  life  of  Wallace,  rank  him  not 
only  among  the  first  patriots  of  his  nation,  but  among 
the  first  of  all  who  have  deserved  that  honourable 
appeilalion.    He  made  his  appearance  in  the  theatre 
of  active  life  at  a  most  interesting  period.    A  dis- 
.  puted  succession  to  the  Scottish  crown  had  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  decision  of  Edward  the  First  of  England, 
The  office  of  umpire,  gave  the  English  king  a  fatal 
ascendancy  over  the  Scottish  nobles,  and  especially 
over  the  competitors  for  the  crown.    Baliol  was  pre- 
ferred, on  condition  that  he  would  acknowledge  the 
dependence  of  Scotland  upon  the  English  crown; 
but  at  last,  under  the  mortification  of  repeated  insults, 
he  resigned  the  crown  altogether  into  the  hands  of 
Edward  on  the  3rd  of  July,  1296.    All  Scotland  was 
now  overrun  by  an  English  army,  and  the  govern- 
ment placed  in  the  hands  of  English  deputies,  who 
made  it  odious  to  the  people  by  their  exactions  and 
oppressions.    At  this  critical  moment  was  the  stand- 
ard of  freedom  first  unfurled  by  William  Wallace, 
the  younger  son  of  a  private  gentleman,  Wallace  of 
Elderslie.   To  great  bodily  strength  and  activity,  and 
a  courage  which  delighted  in  danger,  he  united  an 
inventiveness  of  enterprise,  a  fertility  of  resources, 
and  a  generous  gallantry  of  manner,  well  calculated 
to  gain  him  an  authority  over  the  rude  and  undisci- 
plined multitude  who  answered  his  patriotic  call*  In 


156  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

May,  129?  ,  he  began  to  infest  the  English  quarters, 
and  soon  raade  his  numbers  formidable*    The  first 
person  of  note  who  joined  him,  was  Sir  William 
Douglas.    With  their  united  forces,  these  two  allies 
attempted  to  surprise  Ormesby,  the  English  Justi- 
ciary, while  holding  a  court  at  Scoon  ;  but  a  preci- 
pitate flight  disappointed  them  of  their  expected 
prey.    After  this,  the  patriotic  band  roved  over  the 
whole   country,  assaulted   castles,   and   slew  the 
English  wherever  they  met  with  them.    Several  men 
of  the  highest  rank  now  joined  the  standard  of  free- 
dom; among  others,  Bruce  tlie  Steward  of  Scotland, 
and  bis  brother,  Sir  Alexander  de  Lindsay 
Andrew  Moray  of  Bothweli;  Sir  Kichard  Lunden 
and  Wishart,  Bishop  of  Glasgow.   But  unfortunately, 
they  brought  more  splendour  than  real  strength  to 
the  cause.    Wallace,  though  the  master  spirit  of  the 
whole  enterprise,  was  of  too  humble  a  rank  among 
the  gentlemen  of  Scotland,  to  be  readily  acknow- 
ledged by  them  for  their  chief;  and  where  merit  like 
his  was  not  recognized  as  the  best  title  to  supreme 
command,  it  is  easy  to  conceive  that  the  conflict  of 
pretensions  must  have  been  endless.    All  the  leaders 
claimed  to  be  independent  of  each  other  ;  and  to 
nothing,  even  of  the  most  obvious  advantage,  coul(l 
their  common  consent  be  obtained.    While  the  Scot- 
tish army,  thus  enfeebled  by  disease,  lay  posted 
near  Irvine,  a  chosen  and  numerous  body  of  forces 
which  had  been  sent  from  England  by  Edward,  ap- 
proached to  give  them  battle.    All  the  nobles  and 
barons  who  had  joined  the  party  of  Wallace,  Sir 
Andrew  Moray  of  Bothwell  alone  excepted,  con- 
sented to  treat  with  the  English  j  and  for  themselves 


PATRIOTISM.  157 
and  their  adherents  reade  submission  to  Edward. 
Wallace  and  Moray  refused  to  have  any  concern  with 
the  ignoble  capitulation  ;  and  collecting  together  a 
few  faithful  companions  of  their  fortunes,  retired 
indignantly  towards  the  north.    Under  the  conduct 
of  these  two  able  leaders,  the  patriot  band  soon 
recruited  its  numbers  ;  and  when  the  English  ad- 
vanced to  Stirling,  was  prepared  to  dispute  with  them 
the  passage  of  the  Forth.    Warren,  Earl  of  Surrey, 
the  English  general,  imagining  that  Wallace  might 
still  be  won  over,  dispatched  two  friars  to  the  Scottish 
camp  proffering  terras.    "  Eeturn,"  said  Wallace, 
"  and  tell  your  masters,  that  we  come  not  here  to 
treat,  but  to  assert  our  right,  and  to  set  Scotland  free 
Let  them  advance ;  they  will  find  us  prepared." 
-  He  dehes  us !"  cried  the  English,  and  impatiently 
demanded  to  be  led  on.    The  Scotch  were  encamped 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  to  that  occupied  by 
the  English  ;  who  to  approach  them,  had  to  defile 
over  a  long  narrow  wooden  bridge.    As  soon  as  the 
van  of  the  English  had  crossed  the  bridge,  and  before 
they  could  form  themselves  in  order  of  battle,  Wallace 
rushed  down,  and  broke  them  in  a  moment.  Many 
thousands  were  slain  on  the  field,  or  drowned  in 
attempting  to  recross  the  river.    A  general  panic 
instantly  seized  the  main  body  of  the  English;  they 
set  fire  to  the  bridge,  abandoned  all  their  baggage, 
and  did.not  cease  their  flight  till  they  had  reached 
Berwick,  which  they  also  speedily  evacuated.  The 
loss  of  the  Scots  would  have  been  inconsiderable, 

mit^'^.r'  ^^'^^^  ^^^^^  Sir  Andrew 

Mora^  the  gahant  and  faithful  companion  of  Wallace, 
c^cotland  was  thus  once  more  free  ;  but  in  conse^ 


l58  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

quence  of  bad  seasons  and  the  disorders  of  war,  it 
suffered  severely  from  famine.  With  the  view  of 
procuring  sustenance  to  his  remaining  followers, 
Wallace  marched  his  army  into  the  north  of  England  ; 
and  for  upwards  of  three  weeks,  the  whole  of  that 
wide  tract  of  country  from  Cockermouth  and  Carlisle, 
to  the  gates  of  Newcastle,  was  wasted  with  all  the 
fury  of  revenge,  licence  and,  rapacity. 

Wallace  now  assumed  the  title  of  Guardian  of 
Scoilnnd,  in  name  of  King  John,  (Baliol)  and  by  the 
consent  of  the  Scottish  Nation.  That  he  was  vir- 
tually so,  there  can  be  no  doubt;  and  we  ought  therefore 
to  be  less  the  scrupulous  in  enquiring  as  to  the  forms 
■which  attended  his  investiture  with  this  high  dignit3^ 
With  the  aid  and  countenance  of  only  one  of  all  the 
Scottish  barons,  the  lamented  Andrew  Moray,  and  sup- 
ported by  the  lower  orders  of  Scottish  people  alone^ 
he  had  freed  his  country  from  English  thraldom,  and 
restored  it  to  its  ancient  independence.  A  service  so 
great  and  unexampled,  gave  him  a  claim  to  the  appel« 
lation  of  Scotland's  Guardian,  which  wanted  neither 
form  nor  solemnity  to  make  it  as  well  founded  as  any 
title  that  ever  existed. 

The  barons  who  had  stood  aloof  during  the  struggle 
for  liberty,  now  began,  as  before,  to  intermeddle  with 
the  fruits  of  the  conquest  so  gloriously  achieved.  Of 
Wallace  they  speed-ily  evinced  the  utmost  jealousy. 
His  elevation  wounded  their  pride  ;  his  great  services 
were  an  unceasing  reproach  to  their  inactivity  in  the 
public  cause.  Strife  and  division  were  again  intro- 
duced into  the  Scottish  camp,  at  a  time  when,  more 
than  ever,  unanimity  was  necessary  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  national  independence.    Edward  had 


PATRloriSM.  159 

again  invaded  Scotland  with  a  powerful  army,  and 
Wallace  had  a  second  time  to  risk  a  general  battle 
for  Scottish  freedom.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Falkirk 
the  hostile  armies  met.  Wallace  had  now  around 
him,  a  Gumming,  a  Stewart,  a  Graham,  a  MacdutF^ 
and  other  names  of  equal  note  In  Scottish  chieftain- 
ship ;  but  feebler,  through  the  jealousy  and  distrust 
of  so  many  rivals,  than  when  alone  with  the  gallant 
Moray,  he  led  his  countrymen  to  battle  ;  victory 
deserted  his  plume.  The  Scots  were  defeated  with 
great  slaughter ;  and  though  for  some  time  after  they 
kept  up  the  war  in  detached  parties,  they  were  no 
longer  able  to  muster  an  army  in  the  field.  Edward, 
with  his  victorious  troops,  swept  the  whole  country, 
from  the  Tweed  to  the  Northern  Ocean  ;  and  there 
was  scarcely  any  place  of  importance,  but  owned  his 
sway. 

Yet  amid  this  wreck  of  the  national  liberties, 
Wallace  despaired  not.  He  had  lived  a  freeman; 
and  a  freeman  he  resolved  to  die.  All  his  endeavours 
to  rouse  his  countrymen,  were,  however,  in  vain. 
The  season  of  resistance  was,  for  the  present,  past. 
W^allace  perceived  that  there  remained  no  more  hope, 
and  sought  out  a  place  of  concealment,  where  eluding 
the  vengeance  of  Edward,  he  might  silently  lament 
over  his  fallen  country.  Nothing  now  remained  in 
Scotland  unconquered,  except  the  castle  of  Stirling, 
which  was  at  length  'compelled  to  surrender.  But 
Wallace  still  lived  ;  and  while  he  existed,  though 
without  furces,  and  without  an  ostensible  place  of 
residence,  his  countrymen  were  not  absolutely  with- 
out hope,  nor  Edward  without  fear.  Every  exertion 
was  made  to  discover  bis  retreat;  and  at  length  he 
p  % 


J  60  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

was  betra3^ed  into  the  hands  of  the  English.  He  was 
brought  to  Westminster,  and  arraigned  there  as  a 
traitor  to  Edward,  and  as  having  burnt  villages,  stormed 
castles,  and  slaughtered  many  subjects  of  England.  "  I 
never  was  a  traitor,"  exclaimed  Wallace,  indignantly. 
"What  injury  I  could  do  to  Edward,  the  enemy  of 
ray  liege  sovereign  and  of  my  country,  I  have  done, 
and  I  glory  in  it."  Sentence  of  death  was  pronounced 
against  him,  and  immediately  executed,  with  that 
studied  rigour  in  the  circumstances  of  the  punishment, 
which  while  seeking  to  make  impressions  of  terror, 
excite  pity.  His  head  was  placed  on  a  pinnacle  at 
London;  and  his  mangled  limbs  were  distributed  over 
the  land.  Thus  cruelly  perished  a  man  whom  Edward 
could  never  subdue,  and  whose  only  crime  was  an 
invincible  attachment  to  freedom  and  independence. 


ROBERT  BRUCE. 
After  the  death  of  Wallace,  the  conquest  of  Scot- 
land,  which  it  had  taken  Edward  fifteen  years  to 
accomplish,  seemed  complete  ;  but  the  fire  of  patriot- 
ism was  only  smothered,  not  extinguished.  Robert 
Bruce,  the  grandson  of  the  competitor  of  the  crown 
against  Baliol,  fought  in  the  ranks  of  the  English 
army  at  the  battle  of  Falkirk  ;  and  the  Scottish  histo- 
rians say,  that  he  encountered  Wallace  in  person  in 
the  field,  and  that  Wallace  found  means,  instead  of 
obstinately  fighting  his  antagonist,  to  form  an  appoint- 
ment with  him  for  a  future  meeting.  Bruce  is  said 
to  have  kept  his  appointment,  and  to  have  been 
urged  by  the  eloquence  of  Wallace  into  that  path  of 
patriotic  ambition,  which  he  afterwards  successfully 


PATIUOTISM.  161 

pursued.  For  the  present,  he  was  constrauied  to 
return  with  the  victorious  Edward  to  England  ;  but 
he  lost  no  time  in  concerting  with  some  of  his  coun- 
trymen at  the  English  court,  the  means  of  redressing 
their  country's  wrongs,  and  liberating  it  from  the 
English  yoke.  Edward  obtained,  through  treachery, 
intelligence  of  the  project  which  was  on  foot  among 
the  Scottish  chiefs,  and  had  resolved  on  committing 
Bruce  to  close  custody,  when  a  speedy  flight  saved 
him  from  his  grasp.  All  the  movements  of  Bruce 
were  so  strictly  watched,  that  no  person  could  venture 
to  confer  with  him  by  a  letter  ;  but  a  friend,  who  felt 
interested  in  his  welfare,  and  was  apprised  of 
the  resolution  of  Edward  to  seize  his  person,  sent 
him  by  a  servant,  under  some  pretence,  a  pair 
of  spurs.  Bruce  penetrated  the  symbolical  meaning 
of  the  present,  and  instantly  fled  to  Scotland,  where 
in  a  few  days  he  arrived  in  safety.  AVith  the  aid  of 
his  brother,  Edward  Bruce,  of  Douglas,  and  some 
other  chiefs,  he  succeeded  in  raising  numbers  of  his 
countrymen  to  rally  again  round  the  royal  banner  of 
"Scotland.  His  cause  for  awhile  seemed  desperate, 
and  there  were  moments  when  he  was  even  constrained 
to  consult  his  safety,  by  wandering  in  the  mountains, 
and  sheltering  in  the  caves.  But  adverse  fortune 
only  served  to  add  vigour  to  his  determination  to  set 
his  country  free.  He  was  in  a  short  time  able,  with 
the  flower  and  strength  of  Scotland  around  him,  to 
meet  the  English  king  in  person  at  Bannockburn,  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Stirling,  not  far  from  the  spot 
where  Wallace  had  once  emancipated  his  country, 
by  the  rout  of  the  forces  under  the  Earl  of  Surrey. 
On  the  eve  of  this  ever  memorable  battle,  Maurice, 
p  3 


162  PERCY  ANlLCDoTSiS. 

Abbot  of  Inch  -. ay,  celebrated  mass  in  the  midst  of 
the  Scottish  army.  He  then  passed  along  the  front 
bare-footed,  with  a  crucifix  in  his  hand,  and  in  a  few 
words,  exhorted  the  Scots  to  fight  for  their  rights 
and  liberty.  The  Scots  fell  down  upon  their  knees. 
Edward  perceiving  this,  cried  out,  See,  they  yield, 
they  implore  mercy."  "  They  do,"  answered  Um- 
fraville,  one  of  his  commanders,  "  they  do  implore 
mercy,  but  not  from  us.  On  that  field  they  will  be 
victorious  or  die."  On  the  morning  of  the  battle, 
while  both  armies  were  in  view  of  each  other,  and 
eager  to  engage,  Bruce,  with  a  crown  above  his  helmet, 
and  a  battle-axe  in  his  hand,  ascended  an  eminence, 
and  haranguing  his  troops,  reminded  them  of  the  an- 
cient bravery  and  the  valiant  deeds  of  their  ancestors  ; 
recapitulated  the  wrongs  and  indignities  they  had 
suffered  from  the  English  ;  called  to  their  recollection 
the  deeds,  and  the  fall,  of  the  brasre  and  patriotic 
W allace  ;  and  earnestly  exhorted  them  to  stand  firm, 
and  enter  the  field  with  the  full  determination  to 
conquer  or  die.  "  Let  that  determination,"  he  con- 
cluded, "  gather  strength  with  every  blow  of  your 
arms,  and  with  every  fall  of  your  brave  companionsc 
Thus  let  the  rallying  word  be, '  Scotland's  freedom,  or 
^eath !'  To  arms  1  to  arms  !  my  dear  and  brave  com- 
panions." The  onset  was  tremendous  ;  and  long  and 
severe  the  conflict.  Victory  declared  at  last  on  the 
side  of  liberty  and  right  ;  and  before  the  sun  set, 
Scotland  was  free. 

The  victory  of  Bamiockburn  put  an  end  to  all 
questions  about  the  right  of  succession  to  the  crown, 
and  to  the  divisions,  and  consequent  weakness,  which 
had  embarrassed  the  Scots  in  their  preceding  contests. 


PATRIOTISM.  1G3 
The  gk)ry  of  Robert  Bruce  was  complete  ;  his  name 
was  unboundedly  popular  ;  and  no  candidate  for  the 
throne  could,  for  the  future,  hope  to  supplant  his  de- 
scendants. Accordingly,  though  the  barons  retained 
their  turbulence,  and  the  authority  of  the  crown  was 
inadequate  to  the  internal  good  government  of  the 
kingdom  ;  yet  as  no  dispute  existed  about  the 
person  of  the  monarch,  the  throne  always  formed 
the  rallying  point  of  the  national  independence  to  such 
a  degree,  as  to  extinguish  all  hope  of  future  conquest. 


WASHIXGTOX. 
"When  General  Washington,  the  immortal  saviour 
of  his  country,  had  closed  his  career  in  the  French  and 
Indian  war,  and  had  become  a  member  of  the  house 
of  burgesses,  the  speaker,  Robinson,  was  directed  by 
a  vote  of  the  house,  to  return  their  thanks  to  that 
gentleman,  on  behalf  of  the  colony,  for  the  dis- 
tinguished military  services  which  he  had  rendered  tu 
his  country.  As  soon  as  Washington  took  his  seat, 
Mr.  Robinson,  in  obedience  to  this  order,  and  follow- 
ing the  impulse  of  his  own  generous  and  grateful 
heart,  discharged  the  duty  with  great  dignity ;  but 
with  such  warmth  of  colouring  and  strength  of  expres- 
sion, as  entirely  confounded  the  youns:  hero.  He  rose 
to  express  his  acknowledgments  for  the  honour  :  but 
such  was  his  trepidation  and  confusion,  that  he  could 
not  give  distinct  utterance  to  a  single  syllable.  He 
blushed,  stammered,  and  trem.bled,  for  a  second;  when 
the  speaker  relieved  him,  by  a  stroke  of  address  that 
would  have  done  honour  to  Louis  XIV.  in  his 
proudest  and  happiest  moments.  Sit  down,  Mr. 
Washington,"  said  he,  with  a  conciliating  smile ; 


164 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


**  your  modesty  is  equal  to  your  valour;  and  that 
surpasses  the  power  of  any  language  that  1  possess." 


GRATTAN.  V 

If  the  character  of  an  individual  were  to  be  esti- 
mated in  proportion  to  the  services  he  has  rendered 
his  native  country,  there  are  few  names  would  stand 
higher  on  the  roll  of  patriotism,  than  that  of  Henry 
Grattan.  In  an  age  when  apostacy  and  dereliction 
of  principle  were  too  often  rewarded  with  wealth 
and  honours,  he,  though  possessing  but  a  slender 
fortune,  remained  untainted  ;  and  during  the  whole 
of  his  long  parliamentary  career,  he  never  compro- 
mised or  forgot  the  interests  of  his  native  Ireland. 

Mr.  Grattan  first  became  a  member  of  the  Irish 
Parliament  in  1775.  Ireland  was  then  in  a  state  of 
great  humiliation,  being  only  considered  as  a  pro- 
vince. Her  legislature  was  a  petty  council,  inca- 
pable of  originating  laws,  and  her  courts  of  justice 
subordinate  to  those  of  England,  and  incompetent  to 
a  final  decision.  Destitute  of  foreign  commerce, 
from  which  she  had  been  excluded  by  British  mono- 
poly, her  manufacturers  were  crushed  by  the  weight 
of  British  competition,  and  the  industry  of  the  popu- 
lation checked  from  want  of  encouragement.  In 
short,  bankruptcy,  discontent,  and  wretchedness, 
covered  the  face  of  Ireland. 

While  other  politicians  were  attributing  these  evils 
to  various  causes,  and  offering  temporizing  palliatives 
for  their  redress,  Mr.  Grattan  traced  them  to  their 
source ;  and  no  sooner  was  he  seated  in  the  Irish  House 
©f  Commons,  than  he  urged  the  legislature  to  com- 


PATUIOTISM.  165 
plain  of  the  restraints  on  commerce,  and  declared 
that  nothing  but  a  free  trade  could  save  Ireland  from 
ruin.  His  efforts  were  seconded  by  the  unanimous 
Toice  of  the  country  ;  and  such  was  the  effect,  that 
after  a  little  hesitation  on  the  part  of  the  British  Par- 
liament, the  commerce  of  Ireland  was  partially  thrown 
open. 

Mr.  Grattan  was  now  become  an  object  of  ado- 
ration to  the  people  ;  his  popuhirity  seemed  to  impart 
new  energy  to  his  mind,  and  he  continued  to  exert 
himself  with  indefatigable  assiduity  in  the  senate  ; 
and  by  leading  the  mind  of  the  public,  and  even  the 
legislature  itself,  to  the  consideration  of  national 
rights,  he  paved  the  way  for  that  darling  measure 
which  he  afterwards  accomplished. 

Directed  by  an  acute  understanding,  which  could 
catch  the  moment  propitious  to  exertion,  and  pro- 
portion its  zeal  to  the  object,  Mr.  Grattan  by  his  par- 
liamentary speeches  roused  his  country  to  a  continued 
thirst  for  independence  ;  until  at  length  he  caught  as 
he  inspired  the  sacred  flame  ;  and  by  one  of  those 
extraordinary  displays  of  impassioned  eloquence,  to 
which  even  the  eloquent  can  only  rise  when  a  mo- 
mentous object  seems  to  furnish  adequate  powers,  he 
obtained  the  celebrated  declaration,  that  the  King, 
Lords,  and  Commons  of  Ireland,  and  they  alone, 
could  make  laws  to  bind  Ireland  in  any  case 
whatsoever. 

No  sooner  had  this  important  declaration  been 
obtained,  than  Mr.  Bagenal,  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  gave  notice  of  a  motion  for  voting  the 
sum  of  o£lOO,000,  for  the  purchasing  an  estate,  and 
building  a  suitable  mansion,  for  their  illustrious  bene- 


166  PERCY  ANECDOTES, 

factor,  Henry  Grattan,  Esq.  and  his  heirs  for  ever,  in 
testimony  of  their  gratitude  for  the  unequalled  ser- 
vices he  had  done  for  Ireland.  **  Far  be  it  from  me," 
said  Mr.  Bagenal,  to  compare  even  the  services  of 
a  Marlborough  to  those  for  which  we  stand  indebted, 
for  we  have  no  deductions  to  make  from  our  gratitude. 
The  efforts  of  Mr.  Grattan  have  been  so  timed,  and 
conducted  with  so  much  wisdom,  and  his  appearance 
was  so  essential  to  the  establishment  of  liberty  at 
this  most  critical  juncture,  that  without  superstition, 
men  may  well  record  it  amongst  the  most  propitious 
interpositions  of  heaven,  I  am  conscious  that  I  may 
have  anticipated  men  infinitely  better  qualified  to 
bring  such  a  measure  forward  ;  but  one  excuse  I 
have— for  it  is  not  the  impatient  wish  which  every 
one  must  feel,  to  see  such  a  character  great  and  ex- 
alted—it is  not  fiom  vanity  or  ambition  to  distinguish 
myself,  but  as  I  never  had  any  personal  acquaintance 
with  our  great  benefactor,  I  thought  it  might  come  as 
well  from  one  on  whom  he  could  not  have  any  private 
claim,  as  from  those  distinguished  individuals  who, 
to  the  admiration  of  his  talents  and  his  patriotism, 
add  the  additional  gratification  of  his  personal  friend- 
ship. Virtue,  to  be  sure,  is  its  own  reward  ;  and  we 
know  that  the  consciousness  of  having  done  such  a 
service,  must  render  Mr.  Grattan  the  happiest  of 
men ;  but  has  he  no  claims  on  us  ?  shall  we  be  un- 
grateful ?  God  forbid  1  Gratitude,  national  grati- 
tude, is  a  virtue  which  the  benefits  we  have  received 
demand  us  to  exhibit;  gratitude  is  often  neglected  by 
individuals,  for  the  want  of  power;  we,  I  trust,  shall 
never  have  such  another  opportunity  of  exercising 
ours,  and  God  forbid  that  we  should  suffer  it  to 
escape  us." 


PATRIOTISM.  107 
T  sum  proposed  to  be  given  to  Mr.  Graftan  was 
^100,000;  but  at  the  express  instance  of  his  own 
particular  friends,  this  sum  was  reduced  to  ^50,000, 
which  he  accepted  as  the  offering  of  a  grateful  people 
for  benefits  conferred. 

SAM  HOUSE. 

In  the  A-arious  struggles  which  have  taken  place  for 
the  representation  of  Westminster  in  parliament,  the 
advocates  of  popular  rights  never  found  a  more 
ardent  or  a  more  disinterested  friend,  than  Sam 
House,  who  although  a  publican,  possessed  so  much 
influence,  and  was  so  persevering  in  his  exertions,  that 
he  was  more  than  once  the  principal  cause  of  returning 
Mr.  Fox  to  parliament. 

During  the  memorable  contest  for  Westminster 
between  Fox,  Hood,  and  Wray,  Sam,  without  soli- 
citation, kept  open  house;  and  the  friends  of  Mr. 
Fox  seeing  the  profusion  with  which  he  gave  re- 
freshments to  the  electors,  were  afraid  that  through 
his  uncommon  zeal  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  he 
would  injure  himself.  They,  therefore,  determined 
to  make  him  a  recompense;  but  knowing  his  greatness 
of  soul,  the  difficulty  was  to  do  it  in  such  a  manner 
as  not  to  hurt  his  feelings.  It  was  agreed  that  a 
quantity  of  beer  and  spirits  should  be  sent  to  him,  to 
supply  for  what  he  had  given  away.  Mr.  Byng  and 
some  other  friends  waited  upon  Sam,  and  acquainted 
him  with  this  resolution.  Sam  considering  it  an  in- 
sult to  offer  him  a  recompense,  with  the  calmness  of 
a  philosopher  and  an  expressive  look  of  disdain,  he 
said,  "  Gentlemen,  mind  your  own  business,  and 
leave  me  to  do  as  I  like." 


168 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


EMPRESS  MARIA  THERESA. 
The  illustrious  Maria  Theresa  had  scarcely  been 
invested  with  the  regal  purple,  when  she  found  her- 
self encompassed  b}^  enemies,  each  more  eager  than 
the  rest  to  devour  the  possessions  bequeathed  to  her 
by  her  ancestors.  In  this  distressing  situation,  she 
acted  with  becoming  magnanimity,  nor  once  betrayed 
the  w^eakness  or  the  terrors  of  a  woman.  She  quitted 
Vienna,  and  threw  herself  into  the  arms  of  the  Hun- 
garians. Having  assembled  the  four  orders  of  the 
state,  on  the  31st  of  August,  1741,  she  appeared 
amongst  them,  with  her  eldest  son  (afterwards  the 
Emperor  Joseph)  at  her  breast,  and  addressed  them 
in  Latin,  a  language  which  she  perfectly  understood  j 
telling  them  that,  "  abandoned  by  her friends,  per- 
secuted by  her  enemies^  attacked  by  her  nearest  rela- 
tions, she  had  no  other  resource  left,  but  to  stay  iii 
that  kingdom,  and  commit  her  person,  her  children, 
her  sceptre,  and  her  crown,  to  the  care  of  her  faithful 
subjects."  The  Palatines,  at  once  softened  and  in- 
flamed by  this  pathetic  speech,  drawing  forth  their 
sabres,  exclaimed  as  one  man,  Moriamur^pro  regina 
nostra,  Maria  Thei^esaJ'  We  will  die  for  our  sove- 
reign, Maria  Theresa."  Supplied  with  money  from 
England,  Holland,  Elanders,  and  Venice,  but  prin- 
cipally supported  by  her  own  magnanimity,  and  the 
desperate  ardour  of  her  troops,  she  stood  out  against, 
and  finally  triumphed  over,  the  combination  against 
her. 


PATRIOTISM. 


169 


SCOTTISH  LOYALTY  IN  THE  AMERICAN 
WAR. 

During  the  unhappy  contest  with  America,  the 
people  of  Scotland  were  as  remarkable  for  their  stre- 
nuous support  of  the  measures  of  government,as  tliose 
of  England  were  for  the  countenance  which  they  gave 
to  the  resistance  of  the  colonists.  Both  were  equally 
sincere,  though  not  perhaps  equally  enlightened 
in  their  conduct ;  but  in  all  patriotic  displays,  it  is 
by  the  motive,  rather  than  the  event,  that  their  merit 
ought  to  be  appreciated.  The  exertions  of  the  Scotch 
at  this  period,  took  their  start  from  what  would  have 
sunk  the  spirit  of  other  nations,  the  calamity  which 
befel  General  Burgoyne's  army.  In  that  blow,  each 
individual  felt  his  pride  personally  injured,  and  with 
ardour  threw  the  expression  of  it  into  action. 

The  Duke  of  Hamilton,  representative  of  the  united 
houses  of  Hamilton  and  Douglas,  in  which  last  house, 
by  a  singularity  unparalleled  in  history,  ten  heroes 
succeeded  to  each  other,  prepared  to  go  to  America, 
with  a  regiment  of  a  thousand  men  raised  on  his  own 
estate ;  and  generous  as  brave,  he  would  not  take  ad- 
vantage of  his  rank,  to  rise  above  older  officers,  but 
accepted  the  commission  of  youngest  captain  in  his 
own  regiment. 

The  Duke  of  Athol  raised  another  regiment  of  the 
same  number,  among  the  men  of  Athol ;  and  besides 
the  king's  bounty,  gave  two  guineas  to  each  recruit. 
But  tempering  zeal  for  his  country,  with  humanity 
for  his  countrymen,  he  obliged  himself  to  maintain 

Q 


■i 


170  I'EIICY  ANECDOTES. 

the  families  of  the  recruits  who  went  from  bis  estates, 
if  they  needed  support,  and  never  during  his  life  to 
raise  the  rents  of  such  tenants  as  sent  a  son  or  brother 
to  join  the  royal  standard. 

Lord  M'Leod,  anxious  to  wash  away  the  treasons 
of  his  families  with  his  own  blood,  raised  a  regiment 
of  the  like  number  on  the  estate  to  the  possession  of 
which  he  was  born.  Nor  did  he  even  ask  government 
to  be  restored  to  his  estate,  as  the  reward  of  his  ser- 
vices. The  generous  followers  of  a  fallen  family, 
vied  with  each  other  who  should  most  help  to  raise 
it  up  again,  by  showing  their  attachment  to  their 
sovereign  and  to  his  lordship. 

The  inhabitants  of  Glasgow  raised  and  clothed,  at 
their  own  expense,  a  regiment  also  of  a  thousand  men, 
against  those  very  Americans  at  whose  mercy  a  mil- 
lion of  their  property  lay  at  the  time ;  and  with  an 
honest  confidence  in  his  majesty,  left  the  nomination 
of  their  officers  to  him.  They  raised  a  great  sum  to 
maintain  the  family  of  the  recruits  in  their  absence; 
and  they  made  them  and  their  families  freemen  of 
their  corporations  for  ever. 

The  city  of  Edinburgh  raised  and  clothed  a  regi- 
ment of  the  same  number.  They,  indeed,  recom- 
mended a  list  of  officers  to  the  king  ;  but  they  did 
so  on  this  principle,  that  they  thought  it  would  prove 
a  double  incitement  to  the  ardour  of  the  officers,  to 
find  that  the  applauding  voice  of  their  country,  as 
well  as  the  approbation  of  their  prince,  were  to  beai 
testimony  to  their  merits.  And  with  this  view  the 
most  delicate,  and  even  the  most  scrupulous  atten- 
tion, was  shown  to  the  military  claims  of  the  indivi- 
duals who  were  recommended. 


PATRIOTISM. 


171 


The  families  of  Argyle,  Gordon,  Seaforth,  and 
Macdonald,  also  raised  each  a  regiment  of  d  thousand 
men  on  their  own  estates. 

Smaller  towns  offered  to  raise  companies  at  their 
own  expense ;  and  many  corporations  within  their  own 
estates  offered  bounty-moncj  to  soldiers,  some  to  the 
extent  of  five  guineas  a  man. 

But  amongst  just  compliments  to  higher  ranks,  let 
not  the  brave  commoners  of  Scotland   be  forgot. 
Many  recruits  refused  to  take  bounty  at  all  ;  and 
there  were  soldiers  in  the  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow 
regiments,  worth  one  hundred  pounds.    Whei\  one  of 
them  was  asked  why  he  left  his  own  business  to  em- 
bark in  the  perils  of  war  ?  his  Spartan  answer  was, 
"  Principle  !"  Tradesmen  in  Glasgow,  worth  onlv 
^200,  subscribed  half  their  fortunes.    A  club  of  a 
hundred  common  weavers  in  tliat  place,  draughted 
fourteen  of  their  number  for  recruits,  and  made  up 
a  stock  of  o£'350,  to  maintain  their  families  in  their 
absence.    One  thousand  common  manufacturers  in 
the  same  city,  collected  a  thousand  guineas  ;  and  the 
trades,  as  bodies  corporate,  subscribed  between  five 
and  six  thousand  guineas.    Two  sixpenny  clubs  in 
Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  collected  J^lOO  each.  The 
link  boys  at  Edinburgh,  about  thirty  in  number,  gave 
thirty  guineas.    The  affluent  may  sneer  at  the  recital, 
but  they  should  blush  when  thej  do;  for  the  volun- 
tary mite  of  the  poor,  is  a  more  sure,  and  far  more 
pleasing  proof  to  a  virtuous  prince  of  the  affections  of 
his  people,  than  all  the  incense  of  the  rich. 

When  the  writers  to  the  signet,  by  an  unanimous 
vote,  gave  five  hundred  guineas  to  the  Edinburgh 
regiment,  they  spoke  the  voice  of  Scotland,  in  the 
Q  2 


172  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

following  simple,  but  manly  words  of  their  vote  : 
**  That  the  world  may  see  the  unhappy  contest  is  not 
the  cause  of  a  ministry,  or  any  particular  number  of 
men  ;  but  the  cause  of  the  legislature,  animated  and 
supported  by  the  whole  body  of  the  nation,  as  well 
individuals  as  communities." 


PATRIOTIC  FUND. 

When  Britain  was  threatened  with  invasion  from 
the  French  in  1803,  the  enemy,  confident  in  his 
mighty  preparations,  anticipated  the  conquest  of  the 
only  power  that  opposed  a  barrier  to  his  insatiable 
ambition,  and  lured  his  myriads  to  the  desperate 
enterprise,  by  holding  out  the  spoii  of  rich  and  happy- 
England  as  their  sure  reward.  To  repel  the  proud 
invader,  the  whole  nation  rose  in  arms.  All  ranks 
and  classes  rallied  round  the  throne,  trusting  in  the 
aid  of  Divine  Providence,  by  whose  protecting  favour 
this  country  has  so  long  enjoyed  her  inestimable 
civil  and  religious  blessings.  Their  firmness  awed 
the  foe  ;  and  the  boasted  flotillas  that  were  to  spread 
destiQCtion  through  the  British  fieets,  and  bring 
devastation  to  our  shores,  were  seen  creeping  along 
their  own  coast  for  shelter,  or  vainly  manoeuvring 
within  their  harbours. 

The  national  spirit  at  this  period,  was  in  no  small 
degree  stimulated  and  upheld  by  the  establishment 
in  the  city  of  London  of  a  subscription  fund,' which 
was  very  appropriately  denominated  the  Patriotic 
Fund.  It  was  founded  with  the  view  of  granting 
honourable  badges  of  distinction  to  those  who  sig- 
nalized themselves  in  the  cause  of  their  country,  of 


PATRIOTISM.  173 

alleviating  the  sufferings  of  those  who  were  wounded, 
and  of  providing  for  the  families  of  those  who  fell 
in  repelling  or  annoj^ing  an  implacable  foe. 

The  liberality  with  which  this  institution  was  sup- 
ported, was  equal  to  the  public  spirit  in  which  it  ori- 
ginated. By  a  report  of  the  committee  for  the 
management  of  the  fund,  dated  Uth  July,  1815,  it 
appears  tiiat  in  twelve  years,  the  subscriptions  and 
accumulation  of  interest  amounted  to  no  less  than 
of 543,450.  18s.  lid. ;  out  of  which,  gratuities  and 
relief  had  been  distributed  to  18,000  individuals, 
including  widows,  children,  and  relatives  of  persons 
killed  and  wounded,  and  disabled  seamen  and  soldiers. 
So  ample  indeed  were  the  funds  subscribed,  that  the 
committee  found  it  necessary  to  abstain  from  any 
further  appeal  to  the  public,  confident  that  should 
circumstances  render  it  thereafter  necessary,  they 
should  not  appeal  in  vain  ;  "  but  that  the  spirit  and 
liberality  of  Britons  will  always  rise  equal  to  the  oc- 
casion, when  called  upon  to  relieve  the  sufferings 
and  reward  the  valour  of  those  who  distinguish  them- 
selves in  the  defence  of  their  country." 


EARL  FITZWILLIAM. 
Few  young  noblemen  ever  entered  public  life 
under  inore  favourable  auspices  than  Earl  Fitzwilliam. 
Inheriting  a  good  fortune  from  his  father,  he  was 
also  considered  as  presumptive  heir  to  the  large  estate 
of  the  Marquess  of  Rockingham  ;  and  as  the  friend 
of  this  nobleman,  and  the  Dukes  of  Devonshire  and 
Portland,  the  Earl  of  Carlisle,  and  Mr.  Fox,  he  was 
considered  a  patriot  from  his  connexions. 
Q  3 


174  PERCY  ANECDOTES. 

The  paiiiamentary  conduct  of  his  lordship  justified 
the  expectations  that  had  been  formed  of  him  ;  and 
during  a  period  of  more  than  half  a  century,  in  which 
lie  has  regularly  attended  in  his  seat  in  the  House  of 
Peers,  it  may  be  boldly  affirmed,  that  be  never  gave 
a  single  vote  that  could  be  deemed  hostile  to  the 
liberties  and  interests  of  his  country. 

During  the  great  political  contest  from  1780  to 
1782,  when  the  nation  evinced  its  anxiety  for  peace. 
Earl  Fitzwilliam,  both  by  his  motions  in  the  House  of 
Peers,  and  by  his  active  support  of  the  efforts  of 
other  noble  lords,  was  greatly  instrumental  in  ter- 
minating the  war. 

In  1795,  Earl  Fitzwilliam  was  appointed  Lord 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  an  event  which  was  hailed 
with  the  most  enthusiastic  joy  by  the  whole  population 
of  that  country.  Confidence  in  the  measures  of 
government,  and  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Irish 
parliament,  were  inspired  by  the  presence  of  his 
lordship,  who  accepted  the  office  with  a  determination 
to  make  Ireland  happy.  His  lordship,  however,  soon 
found,  that  in  order  to  do  this,  he  must  dismiss  from 
offices  those  men  whose  situations  were  the  very 
pivot  upon  which  the  executive  government  revolved. 
In  their  room.  Earl  Fitzwilliam  called  others  to  fill 
the  several  offices  of  the  state,  whose  integrity  and 
political  virtue  were  unimpeached.  Indeed  a  cha- 
racter for  public  virtue  seemed  alone  to  be  the  quality 
which  governed  all  his  appointments. 

The  Irish  parliament  seconded  his  lordship's  en- 
deavours to  tranquillize  the  country,  and  promote  the 
general  good  of  the  empire ;  but  while  the  country 
was  anticipating  the  benefits  of  such  an  administra- 


PATRIOTISM.  175 
'don,  Earl  FitEwilliam  was  recalled.  No  sooner  was 
this  made  public,  than  a  panic  pervaded  the  whole 
kingdom,  but  more  particularly  the  city  of  Dublin. 
The  nation  again  seemed  to  sink  into  despondency. 

When  Earl  Eitzwilliam  left  Dublin,  the  houses 
and  shops  in  every  street  through  which  he  passed 
were  shut  up,  and  a  solemn  silence  and  melancholy 
mourning  marked  the  event  in  the  Irish  metropolis. 

Earl  Fitzwilliara's  attachment  to  Ireland  did  not 
terminate  with  his  vice-royalty,  as  he  has  always  been 
one^  of  her  sincerest  and  most  constant  friends  in 
parliament.  During  the  unfortunate  rebellion  in  that 
country,  his  lordship's  estates  sulFered  considerably, 
yet  he  refused  all  compensation  either  from  parliament 
or  from  the  nation. 

Earl  Fitzwilliam  has  sometimes  shared  in  the  ad- 
ministration, when  the  Whig  party,  to  which  he  is 
attached,  has  been  in  power ;  but  in  the  whole  of  his 
lordship's  public  life,  he  has  proved  himself  less  a 
party  man  than  a  patriot ;  and  the  sovereign  does  not 
possess  a  more  loyal  subject,  or  his  country  a  truer 
friend,  than  Earl  Fitzwilliam. 


CHINESE  EMPERORS. 

The  generosity  of  two  Emperors  of  China,  says 
the^  Abbe  Raynal,  is  much  reveied,  on  account  of 
their  preferring  the  interests  of  the  state  to  those  of 
their  own  families  ;  and  excluding  their  own  children 
from  the  succession  to  the  throne,  to  make  room  for 
men  taken  from  the  plough.  Not  less'revered  is  the 
memory  of  the  husbandmen  thus  raised  to  the  diadem, 


176 


PERCY  AM-CUOTES. 


because  they  sowed  the  seeds  of  the  happmess  and 
stability  of  the  empire,  in  the  fertile  bosom  of  the 
earth  ;  that  inexhaustible  source  of  whatever  conduces 
to  the  nourishment,  and  conseqaentlv  to  the  increase 
of  mankind.  In  imitation  of  these  rojal  husband- 
men, the  Emperors  of  China  to  this  day  become 
husbandmen  officially.  It  is  one  of  their  public 
functions  to  break  up  the  ground  in  spring ;  and  the 
parade  and  magnificence  which  accompany  this  cere- 
mony, draw  tot^ether  all  the  families  in  the  neiohbour- 
hood  of  the  capital.  They  flock  in  crosvds  to  see 
their  sovereign  perform  this  solemnity  in  lionour  of 
the  first  of  all  arts.  It  is  not,  as  in  the  fables  of 
Greece,  a  god  who  tends  the  Hocks  of  a  king ;  it  is 
the  father  of  his  people,  who  holding  the  plough 
with  his  own  hands,  shows  his  children  what  are  the 
true  riches  of  the  state.  In  a  little  time  the  emperor 
repairs  again  to  the  field  which  he  has  ploughed  him- 
self, to  sow  the  seed  which  is  most  proper  for  the 
ground.  The  example  of  the  prince  is  follow^ed  in 
all  the  provinces ;  and  at  the  same  seasons  the  viceroys 
repeat  the  same  ceremonies  in  the  presence  of  nume- 
rous crowds  of  husbandmen. 


PATRIOTISM. 


177 


EMPEROR  CHING-TANG. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Ching-tang,  about 
the  year  before  Christ,  1747,  there  happened  a 
drought  and  famine  all  over  the  empire  of  China, 
which  lasted  seven  years,  no  rain  having  fallen  in 
that  long  interval  of  time.  The  emperor,  greatly  af- 
fected with  the  distress  of  his  country,  consulted  the 
college  of  astronomers,  and  was  told  by  the  president 
that  the  wrath  of  heaven  could  only  be  appeased  by 
human  blood. 

The  pious  emperor  on  hearing  this  answer,  and 
imputing  so  dreadful  a  calamity  to  his  own  faults,  re- 
solved to  devote  himself  a  victim  for  the  preservation 
of  his  people.  In  order  to  this,  he  retired  to  his 
palace,  and  after  spending  three  days  in  fasting,  laid 
his  royal  robes  aside.  He  then  ordered,  the  venerable 
grey  hairs  which  adorned  his  head  to  be  cut  off,  his 
beard  to  be  shaved,  and  his  nails  to  be  pared,  sacri- 
ficing what,  in  China,  is  considered  as  the  greatest 
marks  of  honour,  to  the  safety  of  his  country. 

Deprived  of  these  marks  of  honour,  bare>^ footed, 
in  the  posture  of  a  criminal,  and  his  body  sprinkled 
over  with  ashes,  he  appeared  in  the  court  before  the 
palace,  and  lifting  up  his  hands  to  heaven,  entreated 
the  Supreme  Being  to  spare  his  subjects,  and  let  the 
whole  weight  of  his  just  wrath  fall  on  his  devoted 
head.  He  had  scarce  done  praying,  when  the  sky 
became  covered  with  clouds,  and  a  general  rain 
followed  ;  by  which  the  earth  was  rendered  fruitful, 
and  plenty  restored  all  over  the  empire. 


178 


PERCY  ANECDOTES. 


Perhaps  no  prince  in  the  v.  orld  ever  gave  a  greater 
instance  of  paternal  love  for  his  countr;y  ;  nor  per- 
formed a  greater  act  of  humiliation  and  devotion  to 
avert  the  wrath  of  the  otFended  majesty  of  heaven 
for  the  sins  of  a  people,  which,  through  the  bad  ex- 
amples of  many  irreligious  and  wicked  emperors,  had 
rendered  their  vices  and  impieties  ripe  for  judgment. 
These  crimes  the  generous  and  pious  emperor  was 
willing  to  take  upon  himself,  and  to  devote  his  own 
life  as  a  sacrifice  to  atone  for  the  transgressions  of 
his  people. 


"  INDEX. 


ANECDOTES  OF  PATRIOTISM. 


Adams,  Samuel    107 

Alexander  the  Roman  ....*.*.  82 
Baran? 


the   97 

Barneveldt?,  the   62 

Bay  ley,  x-\Ir.  of  Epsom    73 

  150 

  22 


Bedford,  Duke  of 

Boadicea  

Body  Guards  

Boscawen   

Bouffler.5,  Marshal 
Bort  es,  Sir  Jerome 

Brave  Citizen  

British  Carpenter... '71 

Bruce,  Robert   '***  i^n 

Brutus    ** 


Chatham,  Earl  of  

Cliief  Justice  rebuked 
Chinese  Emperors 


122 


Ching-Tana:,  Kmperor   177 

Christian  Charity,  order  of  ..  35 

Cincinnatus   o 

Corsica  g.^ 

Corsicdu  Youth  27 

Darin?  Enterprise   16 

Destruction  of  Fredejikshald  44 

De  VVittd,  the   J5I 

Doria,  Andrea   ***.'  ]]g 

Dronihiem,  Liberation  of  '!!  21 

Effingham,  Earl  of    146 

Epaniinondas   g 

Erecting- Fortresses  .  ',  '.1'.'.  97 

Fabius    , 

Faithful  13eputies.'.*!!!,*.'.*ii.*.'  ]2 

—  Pastor   ^0 

Fitzwiiliam,  Earl  Of   170 

Freedom  of  the  Press....    "  00 

French,  the  '//l  I2J 

Generous  Loyaltv   ro 

Georsre  I....   ^° 

Gersdorff   ft 

Good  Counsellor  '.**.',*  25 


Grattan   154 

Greenianders  in  Denmark".'.*  is 

Hampden   74 

Henry,  Patrick  .*..'.*.*.*.'.*  104 

Hoter,  Andrew   100 

Home   55 

Hottentot  Boy,  a  .*.  .'.'.*.'."  17 

Independent  Patron    68 

Innovation   qa 

1  n trepid  Priest  W.V.V.V,  13 

Julian  the  Apostate   65 

Keys  of  Paris   

Korner  

Knox,  John..,  

Lewis,  John    ] 

Liberty  of  Conscience  '..'.*.'.'.* 

Love  of  Country  

Loyal  Subscriptions  of  174.5..' 
i^ycurgus  

M;igna  Charta   14 

Maria  Theresa,  Empress  ....  I68 

Marvel!,  Andrew   oq 

Medici,  Lorenzo  de  .'.'.* 

Noble  Reconciliation    jg 

Paoli  

Prttriot  Fathers  .**.*.'*.'.'*.' 

— -  Brothers  

Pargninotes,  the  .. 
Patriotic  Fund  j,, 

Pedaretus   

Pericles   .'.'.'.*.'.* 

Persians,  the  ' 

Philip,  Judge   ".*".'.'. 

Phocion   

Pitt,  Mr  .'.■.'.';;■"*  100 

Putnam,  General  J22 


41 

133 
35 

09 
S7 

3 
74 

9 


91 

93 
120 
134 


13 
4 
18 
102 
5 


Quakers,  the 


100 


Rat  in  the  statue   7, 

Recapture  ,  [[  34 


11 


INDEX. 


Reding  Aloys   40 

Remonstrating....   137 

Republic  of  San  Marino  ....  95 

 ,  smallest..  ,.   96 

Rerolters  reclaimed    31 

Rodney,  Admiral   112 

Roman  Senator   22 

Rooke,  Sir  George   35 

Royal  Occupations   26 

Russell,  Lord  W   62 

Russia  Emperor  of  ^  42 

Russians,  the   113 

Sam  House   167 

Self  Devotion   43 

Scottish  Loyalty  in  the  Ame- 
rican War    169 

Siege  of  Copenhagen........  51 

 — ■  Orleans   70 


Siege  of  Novogorod  ......o.  222 

Sileslan  Girl    54 

Sincerity   39 

Singular  Oath  of  Allegiance  .  65 

Sobieski    38 

Something  better  than  Power.  37 

Spencer,  Sir  John,  «.  72 

St.  Pierre,  Eustace  de    45 

States  General  of  forraer  Times  1 5 

Stair,  Earl  of   32 

&\iiiots,  the..    123 

Sussex  Fisherman    34 

Swedish  Magistrate   70 

Vane,-Sir  Henry,   35 

Veteran  Patriot   20 

Wallace,  William   154 

Washington    163 

Weimar,  Grand  Ducliess  of..  99 


London:  Printed  by  D.  Cartwright,9l,  Bartholomew  Close^_ 


